The Marcos administration’s countrywide projects, estimated to cost taxpayers multibillion pesos, had been assured of available funding by the Senate Committee on Finance chaired by Sen. Juan Edgardo Angara.
This, as Angara affirmed support for the call of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. for local government units (LGUs) to work with the private sector in the development of projects that will serve their respective constituencies.
The chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance, in a news statement, agreed that public-private partnerships (PPPs) are “the way to go at this time when the government collections remain slow as the country is still on the road to economic recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic.”
“Continuing the development of infrastructure projects is crucial during this period of economic recovery,” Angara stressed.
The senator added that “these projects are key to generating jobs for our people and inducing more economic activity.”
Saying that the times also call for creativity, he hastened to advice that “there are careful ways of financing public projects that do public good.”
One example that should be emulated is the lease agreement between SM Prime Holdings Inc. and the city government of Iloilo City, led by its Mayor Jerry Treñas, for the redevelopment of city’s Central and Terminal Markets.
He recalled that the Iloilo City government recently entered into a 25-year lease agreement with SM Prime Holdings Inc. for the redevelopment of the two markets, which will benefit an estimated 2,800 market vendors.
As agreed, he added, SM Prime Holdings Inc. “committed to allocate as much as P3 billion for the project and as a result of this PPP, the city government will not have to shoulder any cost” with management of the markets remaining with the city government through the Local Economic Enterprise Office.
Angara acknowledged this to be “a PPP that strikes a balance between public welfare and fiscal responsibility, and of bringing convenience to its users without bloating public debt that they might end up paying for in the end,” noting that “such type of financing will allow LGUs to leverage their resources and punch above their weight.”
“Done right,” Angara added, “PPPs will end up being a win-win for both the LGU beneficiaries and the private sector partner.”
Moreover, he recalled that in a meeting with officials of the League of Cities of the Philippines last week, President Marcos also encouraged the LGUs “to be open to the possibilities of PPPs.”
Apart from infrastructure, Angara said the President agreed digitalization projects should also be pursued as PPPs.
“The traditional sources— through the national budget, local revenues—must be expanded. And PPP has been proven to be a viable option,” he added.