JV Ejercito: Public-Private Partnership Act will help address PH infra backlogs
April 18, 2023
Senator Joseph Victor “JV” Ejercito on Tuesday
expressed his support for the passage of the Public-Private Partnership (PPP)
Bill.
Presiding over the hearing of the Senate
Sub-Committee on the PPP Act, Ejercito said enacting the PPP Act will resolve
the country’s backlogs in public works and infrastructure development.
“Like the good Chairperson, our Senate
President and Majority Leader, we also humbly submit our commitment to
strengthen our national structures in order to address the backlogs,
bottlenecks, and underlying issues,” he said.
“We believe in the indispensable role of the
public sector in realizing most of our public works agenda and support the
passage of the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Act by filing our version of
the bill, Senate Bill No. 1974,” he added.
The proposed PPP Act will expand the coverage
of existing PPP modalities to include joint ventures, concessions, and
management contracts. Moreover, it seeks to provide clearer protest protocols
and appeal mechanisms in all stages of the PPP procurement process.
Moreover, the said bill seeks to prohibit the
issuance of court orders, except by the Supreme Court, against any PPP project.
It will also prevent government regulatory bodies from entering into joint
ventures contracts.
The lawmaker from San Juan said a new law is
needed to address the “outdated” provisions of the Build, Operate, and Transfer
(BOT) Law, which currently governs the financing, construction, operation, and
maintenance of infrastructure projects by the private sector.
“We believe in the spirit of PPP. However,
this has also led to delays, conflict of interests, and even corruption. There
had been several moves to improve the vague provisions in the BOT Law through
revisions of its Implementing Rules and Regulations. However, these would not
suffice due to the fact that the last amendment to the BOT Law was enacted
almost three decades ago,” Ejercito said.
“We need to address the outdated provisions in
the law and provide for a more enabling environment for the successful
implementation of the PPP program,” he added.
Ejercito said a PPP Law would complement his
proposed Comprehensive Infrastructure Development Master Plan and offer a more
effective framework for public works.
“Ang PPP Act po at ang Infrastructure
Development Master Plan po na ating isinusulong ay tulay sa pagkakaroon ng mas
maayos na public infrastructures at mga kalsada; mas matatag na social
infrastructures katulad ng mga ospital at paaralan; mas accessible na
pampublikong transportasyon; murang mga bilihin; at mas maunlad na ekonomiya at
masiglang buhay ng bawat pamilyang Pilipino,” he said.
In July, Ejercito filed Senate Bill No. 158,
which seeks to create and institutionalize a Comprehensive Infrastructure
Development Master Plan.
The said plan, which will be drafted by the National
Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) and monitored by a Joint
Congressional Oversight Committee, would cover several areas of development:
transportation and logistics, energy, water resources, information and
communications technology, social infrastructure, agri-fisheries modernization
and food logistics, and asset preservation and maintenance strategies.
