Aboitiz InfraCapital calls for predictability, transparency in PPP classrooms

Aboitiz InfraCapital Inc. said that public-private partnerships (PPPs) for social infrastructures, such as classrooms, require clear guidelines and transparency to encourage greater participation from the private sector.

“PPP provides a structure, a way for long-term performance to align with public interest, and that’s the core of PPPs,” Aboitiz InfraCapital President and Chief Executive Officer Cosette V. Canilao said in a forum.

“What we ask for is really just predictability in the rules, transparency in the processes, and the private sector knowing exactly when the projects are going to come out,” she added.

Ms. Canilao also noted that payment modality is one of the factors that make PPP challenging.

“We’re not into social infrastructure for now…Social infrastructure is really a challenge,” she said. “But then we already have a modality under the PPP code that addresses it, the availability payment mode.”

“Which means I think more social infrastructure PPP projects will flourish under the new PPP code,” she added.

The availability payment mode in the PPP Code of the Philippines, or Republic Act 11966, refers to predetermined payments by the implementing agency to the private sector in exchange for an asset or service under the PPP contract.

Acknowledging the challenges faced by the private and public sectors, Education Secretary Juan Edgardo “Sonny” M. Angara said the key to a successful PPP is striking a balance between the two.

“I guess the challenge is really finding that sweet spot,” he said. “For business to realize there’s a lot of equity involved here, and for the public sector to realize that the rules have to be fair and the gains have to be clear.”

“There’s no prohibition in the model approved by the government for all of these big companies, listed, unlisted, to come in and build these,” he added.

Mr. Angara highlighted that companies can also offer proposals through different modalities.

“There are several modalities, there’s a solicited proposal, which is what the government is doing,” he said.

“There’s also an unsolicited proposal, so companies are actually coming in and saying, we want to build in the Negros region, which is a thousand classrooms, because it’s much faster,” he added.

The DepEd aims to build 106,000 classrooms by 2031 through the PPP for School Infrastructure Project (PSIP) to address the 144,758 nationwide classroom gap. — Almira Louise S. Martinez