DILG Secretary Benjamin Abalos Jr. (Photo from Facebook account)
MANILA, Philippines — Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Benjamin “Benhur” Abalos Jr. is urging executives of local government units (LGUs) to be “creative” in sourcing resources to sustain projects in their respective cities and municipalities.
Speaking during an orientation for newly elected local officials on Thursday in Clark, Pampanga, Abalos said LGUs could utilize initiatives such as the Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) under the Private-Public Partnership (PPP) program as well as leasing “air rights.”
“You must be creative in generating resources for your local government units,” Abalos told LGUs, as quoted by a DILG statement released on Saturday.
A BOT is a project delivery mechanism in which government entities enter into a partnership with the private sector to implement projects.
“Air rights” is the right to physically develop and subsequently benefit or profit from the continued use of the air space above the road right-of-way, according to the National Building Code of the Philippines.
Abalos, who was a former mayor of Mandaluyong City, cited the city’s granting of “air rights” to the management of a shopping mall, which allowed it to construct a “connector building” to link the mall’s two sections.
“As local chief executives of their respective LGUs, governors and mayors should always think outside the box and explore ways and means on how to get things done with the help of the private sector and other stakeholders for the benefit of their constituents,” Abalos said.