NGOs back British Embassy's bid to boost PPP program

MANILA, Philippines - Non-government organizations (NGOs) La Liga Policy Institute and Code: RED (Reforms for Economic Development) are supporting the British Embassy’s endeavor to boost the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) program in the Philippines.

In a joint statement, the two NGOs said the Philippines can learn a lot from the experience of the British Embassy with PPP.

They expressed hope that the British experience in PPP delivery will help “bring in great benefits in infrastructure development in the Philippines.”

In a bid to support the Aquino government’s PPP policy, experts from the United Kingdom are coming over to share best practices and success stories in the implementation of PPP projects through a capacity-building exercise called Experience-Sharing and Workshop on Public-Private Partnerships.

“UK experts Edward Farquharson and James Ballingall of the Infrastructure United Kingdom of Her Majesty’s Treasury will share the British experience on PPPs. Her Majesty’s Treasury is the UK’s Economics and Finance Ministry with functions similar to the Philippine Department of Finance and the National Economic and Development Authority,” the two groups said.

The groups said the experts would be coming next week to share their experience.

Another initiative is a forum for local governments and this would also be held next week.

Both workshops will also serve as a venue for addressing issues endemic to PPP.

Based on an Asian Development Bank study, several PPP issues were identified. These include: inadequacy of PPP policy, legal and regulatory frameworks; insufficiency of institutional set-up and capacity to effectively promote and implement PPP projects; insufficiency of the system and capacity to prepare bankable PPP projects and lack of long-term financing and credible risk guarantee mechanisms for PPP projects.

The two NGOs said the experience of the British government in PPP projects would help the Aquino government address the issues.

The Aquino administration has revised the existing PPP framework to attract private capital by providing a level playing field with reasonable returns and appropriate risk-sharing without compromising the public interest.