Drilon Supports Passage of PPP Act

The proposed amendment to the Build-Operate-and-Transfer (BOT) Law or Republic Act 7718 is among the priority economic legislations slated in the Senate that will help accelerate the country’s infrastructure development.

“One of the key measures that the Senate would soon start to work on to accelerate infrastructure development is the proposed amendment of the Build Operate Transfer Law,” said Senate President Franklin Drilon during the General Membership Meeting of the Management Association of the Philippines (MAP) held last September 29 at the Manila Peninsula Hotel in Makati.

The passage of key amendments of the BOT law according to Senator Drilon will create a better enabling policy environment for Public-Private Partnerships (PPP) and provide the most appropriate incentives to mobilize the private sector participation infrastructure projects and services.

“We would ensure that there is a fair and reasonable pricing mechanism and timely delivery of quality infrastructure, goods and services, as this will enable better access to market which will ultimately translate to lower cost of goods,” he emphasized.

To attract more investments from both local and foreign players, Senator Drilon added that they are setting sights on cultivating a business environment that allows investors to engage in a wider array of financial activities, to comply with reasonable and expedient regulatory requirements, and subsequently earn fair and equitable return of their investments.

Senator Drilon said that the proposed BOT law amendments would include other PPP modalities such as joint ventures, concession agreements and management contracts. It also aims to close some policy gaps such as inter-connectivity issues between two or more infrastructure projects.

He also proposed to hold a special session for Congress next year to pass at least nine laws which include the amendments to the Build Operate Transfer Law.

The PPP Center has been advocating the amendment of the BOT Law into the PPP Act in Congress, both House of Representatives and Senate, to sustain the strides gained by the Philippine PPP Program. Likewise, this will ensure that current process improvements are sustained and that PPP contracts are procured through credible, transparent and accountable processes, and will be honored in succeeding administrations.

Source: PCOO, ppp.gov.ph