MESSAGE
by Cayetano W. Paderanga Jr.
Socioeconomic Planning Secretary and NEDA Director General
Training Workshop on Project Management Cycle
[Delivered at the Astoria Plaza, Ortigas, Pasig City on September 8, 2011]
British Ambassador to the Philippines, Stephen Lillie,
PPP Center OIC Executive Director Cosette V. Canilao,
Our development partners including the Development Academy of the Philippines
led by its President Tony Kalaw,
fellow workers in government, a pleasant day to all.
I would like to thank the British government, through its Ambassador to the Philippines, Stephen Lillie for the grant that was awarded to the PPP Center that funded the three-day training workshop on project development and business case development. I would also like to recognize the valuable contribution of the Development Academy of the Philippines and others as facilitators and subject matter experts during the workshop.
This training is the first step towards bolstering and improving our competencies and we hope to continue the important work that we have began which is to strengthen the country’s greatest assets – its people.
The Public-Private Partnership or PPP is one of the flagship programs of the Aquino administration. We see PPP as a powerful impetus to attain inclusive growth for all Filipinos, hence, its substantial role in the Philippine Development Plan for 2011-2016 and at the helm of the government’s PPP program is the PPP Center of the Philippines.
Investor confidence in the Philippines today is quite strong. In fact, the country’s competitiveness ranking moved up 10 notches in the World Economic Forum Global Competitiveness Index to No. 75 out of 142 economies as reported today in the major dailies and we want to sustain this by creating an environment that is conducive to positive growth. We have seen how the power of PPP attracts business to the Philippines. Investors have expressed encouraging interest to take on these PPP projects and partner with us and we want this positive interest to spill over to other PPP projects.
What we need to do right now is to ensure that this vote of confidence from the private sector is not compromised by a dearth in our capacity to address the complexities and issues arising from these projects. We need to rise up to the challenge and arm ourselves with the kind of competency that is required of us.
Finally, I would like to acknowledge the participation of the Department of Health, the Department of Public Works and Highways, the Department of Tourism and the Department of Agriculture in this training workshop.
You are all here to learn, not only because you are mandated to champion PPP in the Philippines but also because you are committed to serve the country with excellence. We may be facing huge challenges ahead but I believe that with our partners by our side, we shall overcome.
Thank you.
