President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. speaks to Reuters during an exclusive interview at his hotel in Washington, U.S., May 4, 2023. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein
MANILA, Philippines — President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. has certified a bill that seeks to strengthen public-private partnerships (PPP), documents shared by Albay 2nd District Rep. Joey Salceda’s office showed.
Documents sent to reporters on Wednesday showed that Senate Bill (SB) No. 2233, or the proposed Public-Private Partnership Act, was certified as urgent last May 31.
The letter of transmittal was signed by Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin.
“Pursuant to the provisions of Article VI, Section 26 (2) of the 1987 Constitution, I hereby certify the necessity of the immediate enactment of Senate Bill No. 2233 […] to address the urgent need of the government to enhance private sector participation in national development programs that will support critical infrastructure development considering the limited fiscal capability of the government,” Marcos said.
“The bill, if enacted, will increase much-needed development across various sectors and accelerate the delivery of public services in order to spur economic growth and elevate millions from dire poverty,” he added.
SB No. 2233 is a consolidation of seven bills filed in the 19th Congress. If enacted, the bill will institutionalize PPPs and provide guidelines as to how implementing agencies can maximize the contracts and pick deals beneficial for the government.
According to the Senate of the Philippines website, the bill is currently pending on second reading.
It also provides risk mitigation plans to ensure the credibility of the government’s PPP program.
“In order to manage the fiscal risks arising from PPP Projects, strengthen the credibility of the PPP program and Projects among the private sector, and to ensure the timely compliance with the contractual obligations of Implementing Agencies, PPP Projects undertaken through this Act shall require the adoption of 17 contract management and risk mitigation plans,” SB No. 2233 said.
“Such plans shall include the agreed project execution plan, all risks assumed by the government under the contract, risks assumed by the Implementing Agency, risk mitigating measures, estimated costs to be incurred, target timeline to have each measure in place, and the appropriate action plan by the Implementing Agency to manage each type of risk. All plans shall be kept up-to-date and be submitted to the PPP Center for monitoring,” it added.
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This is not the first time that Marcos certified a bill as urgent. In December 2022, the President certified the proposed Maharlika Investment Fund of the House of Representatives.
This allowed the House to tackle the said proposal in the second and third reading on the same day, doing away with the rule that all proposals can only be deliberated on the third reading three session days after it was approved on the second reading.