Creation of PPP unit to streamline project proposals in Cebu City sought

Cebu City skyline. CDN Digital photo | Brian J. Ochoa

CEBU CITY, Philippines — A legislator has called for the creation of a public-private partnership (PPP) unit to streamline the submission of project proposals to the City Government.

This was proposed by Councilor Rey Gealon in his privilege speech during the City Council’s regular session on Wednesday. 

He also requested the Office of the Mayor to issue an executive order creating a PPP unit and appoint its members. 

The unit shall be known as the Pre-Qualification Bids and Awards Committee (PBAC).

In his speech, Gealon highlighted several PPP projects in Cebu City, including the SRP Water Management by Pilipinas Water Resources Inc., Filinvest’s Citi de Mari Development, Megawide’s Carbon Market Rehabilitation, Universal Hotels and Resorts Inc.’s Cebu Integrated Resort and Casino, and the Cebu–Cordova Link Expressway (CCLEX).

Gealon said the city is engaged with private companies and there are still many more lining up to be involved with Cebu City’s direction towards progress and development. 

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He added that the city supports these initiatives as long as the private companies comply with laws, rules, and regulations, and uphold principles of good governance, transparency, and accountability.

Moreover, Gealon cited Republic Act 11966 or the Public Private Partnership Code of the Philippines signed into law on December 5, 2023 and came into effect on December 23 of the same year. Then, it became effective on April 6, 2024.

PPP Code

Gealon said the PPP Code and its implementing rules and regulations (IRR) “aim to strengthen and institutionalize PPPs in the country by providing a unified legal framework for all PPPs both national and local levels.” 

The code, he said, also clarified the “ambiguities in the Build Operate Transfer Law” which was last amended in 1994. 

“The PPP code rendered inoperable all existing ordinances such as ours, Cebu City Joint Venture (JV) Ordinance or City Ordinance 2154,” Gealon said.

He added the City’s JV ordinance adopted the framework of the National Economic and Development Authority which was “expressly repealed by the PPP Code.” 

He stated that the city’s ordinance, which only covers joint ventures, is now superseded by the PPP Code, which includes all types of contracts. These include joint ventures, toll operation agreements, and lease agreements for private partners to rehabilitate, operate, or maintain government-owned land.

“The most salient feature of the PPP Code is that the procedure for approving both national and local PPP projects has been standardized,” Gealon said.

He added that local PPP projects shall be approved by the Council regardless of the cost and ensure alignment with national development plans. 

The local PPP projects that affect national or sectoral development plans and national projects shall secure the endorsement of the national government through the respective Regional Development Councils (RDC) under NEDA.

Gealon explained that the PPP Code also introduced a new procedure for unsolicited proposals which must be endorsed to the PPP Center to determine their completeness before it be forwarded to the local government unit. 

“Private sector components are thus obliged to submit their proposals first to the PPP Center before the LGU can act on it,” he said.

He mentioned that under the PPP Code, if the city doesn’t act on a proposal within 30 days, the proposal is automatically approved, and the LGU could be forced to negotiate or approve the contract.

Therefore, he stressed the importance of quickly implementing the PPP Code, which requires the creation of a PPP unit and a PBAC.

He also emphasized the need to activate the Local Development Council (LDC) since the city frequently receives unsolicited proposals from private companies. Gealon urged the Office of the Mayor to mobilize the LDC to handle these PPP project proposals. /clorenciana