Capitol’s CPIPO Hosts 2-Day Confab on PPP Procurement
The Cebu Provincial Investment and Promotions Office (CPIPO), in partnership with the Toyo University through its Asia Public-Private Partnership Institute (APPPI), organized a two-day training conference on public-private partnership (PPP), with Japanese Prof. Sam Tabuchi as one of the speakers.
Dubbed “Provincial Investment Training Conference 2018: Value for Money in PPP Procurement,” the training aims to educate policymakers and stakeholders on the value of PPPs in promoting sustainable development, train focal persons on PPP on how to evaluate an unsolicited proposal from private entities, and provide a venue for discussion on how the local government units (LGUs) and the private sectors in Cebu can work together in improving basic services.
“We are here to help them understand what unsolicited proposal means, what Cebu should be doing with the project, and what they go through to evaluate the sizes of projects for them to propose to the governor if that is a good project or not so good project,” said Tabuchi, director of APPPI of Toyo University in Tokyo, Japan.
Other speakers were Prof. Yu Namba, associate professor of Toyo University PPP School; Satoshi Kato, Chodai Philippines Cooperation president; Fumiyo Takai, senior staff of APPPI.
In an interview, Tabuchi said that part of his activities is to visit proposed sanitary landfill projects in Cebu and in Mandaue City, as well as studying over 3,000 Province-owned properties, assessed if it has potential market value and help in finding ways to develop it.
Tabuchi, who is also the executive board member and vice chairperson of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) PPP Initiatives, said that his team also made a conceptual proposal to minimize flooding in Mandaue and Metro Cebu.
“Due to the steep mountains, we have the water (that) runs so quickly. So I have this proposal…have reservoir in the mountains to control rainwaters going to Cebu and Mandaue,” said Tabuchi.
He said that building a reservoir in the mountain areas will have three possible benefits to the local government units and to the public—this will help control the flood, power can be generated through hydro power plant, and there would be more clean water supply.
Tabuchi said that the Cebu Provincial Government is not spending money in getting his services.
He said that Cebu is going to be a member of the APPPI of which Tabuchi is the director and honorary chairperson. He said that other members of APPPI are the cities of Butuan and Iligan.
Being a member of APPPI, Cebu is only paying an annual due of $300, he said.
In March this year, Tabuchi visited Cebu Gov. Hilario Davide III Davide to follow-up on his conceptual proposed PPP projects in Cebu. These projects are part of Tabuchi’s proposal when the governor visited Saitama Prefecture, Japan in 2015 during the 10th International Public Private Partnership Forum in Toyo University.
Among the potential investment areas in Cebu include disaster risk reduction (DRR) research center, the redevelopment of the Cebu South Bus Terminal and the development of some of the Province-owned prime properties.
These areas are also aligned with Davide and Vice Gov. Agnes A. Magpale’s Six-Key Development Areas in addition to the development of countryside, health and social services; education and technical vocational training; environmental protection, climate change and disaster risk management; infrastructure development, tourism and investment promotion; and law and order. (CEBU PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENT)