POLICY recommendations have been offered to the Aquino administration as a means of jump-starting its public-private partnership (PPP) initiative.
The PPP Coalition, composed of the Philippine Constructors Association (PCA), PCA Foundation, Inc., Bankers Association of the Philippines and the Research, Education and Institutional Development Foundation, Inc., said the proposals were submitted to the government earlier this month.
Manolito P. Madrasto, PCA executive director, told BusinessWorld the group was still waiting for a response.
"There will be a lot of people interested but that interest will fade if the policy recommendations will not be implemented," Mr. Madrasto added.
The recommendations include repealing the Joint Venture Guidelines which exist outside the build-operate-transfer (BOT) law, the current framework for infrastructure partnerships between the government and the private sector.
"It promotes less transparency as it grants the heads of agencies the full authority to approve joint venture proposals regardless of cost," the group said in a statement.
The PPP Coalition added that the guidelines did not promote effective competition for unsolicited bids because of a "tight deadline" of 30 days for the submission of comparative proposals.
It said the BOT law’s implementing rules and regulations (IRR) should be revised.
The coalition also called on regulatory agencies to automatically issue franchises to winning proponents instead of providing a temporary permit prior to a permanent license.
"Obviously, these can result to the unwillingness of the financial sector (or any prospective investors) to invest in PPP projects," the coalition said.
It added that toll setting and adjustments must be based on a predetermined formulas agreed upon in contracts, noting that changes are often politicized and affect the project’s financial viability.
Right-of-way acquisition must also be streamlined because delays "severely" impede most of the projects implemented.
Lastly, the coalition called for the establishment of PPP units within implementing agencies to assist the government’s main PPP Center in preparing necessary documents for public tender. International development partners can actively support the PPP Center and the agency-level units in the preparation of feasibility studies and other documents.
A planning official said the proposals would be studied and concerned agencies consulted. -- Jo Javan A. Cerda
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