Marcos certifies Public-Private Partnership bill as urgent
MANILA, Philippines — President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. has certified as urgent the Senate bill proposing the Public-Private Partnership Act.
In a letter dated May 31, Marcos, through Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, asked Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri to certify the immediate passage of Senate Bill 2233. Congress is currently on break, meaning no action can be taken in the bill until after the State of the Nation Address in July.
The proposed PPP Act stipulates guidelines for PPP projects that may be financed “partly from direct government appropriations or official development assistance of foreign governments or institutions.”
PPP refers to a collaborative arrangement between the government and the private sector to finance, build, and manage a government service or business venture.
PPP projects are usually seen as alternatives for when there are limited funding resources for local infrastructure or development projects in the government.
The measure also institutionalizes the PPP Center that was created under Execeutive Order No. 8 in 2010. The bill gives the PPP Center increased powers and functions to be the central agency monitoring all PPP projects in the country.
The bill also aims to ensure that the government can adhere to its own targets and meet the obligations it enters into in its PPP projects.
The House version of the PPP Act hurdled final reading in 2022.
Rep. Joey Salceda (Albay, 2nd District) has estimated that for infrastructure projects, the proposed PPP Act will make available at least P27 trillion in financial resources from banks and at least P600 billion annually in just the “large conglomerates.” — Cristina Chi
- Latest
- Trending
