Interior and Local Government Secretary Ismael Sueno urged the government and the private sector to forge partnerships to speed up infrastructure projects and improve public services.
“Public-private partnership (PPP) may just be the answer to the infrastructure demands of our country. It is a win for both the government and the private sector and the public will benefit from the services,” said Sueno during the launch of the Public-Private Partnership for the People (P4) Initiative for Local Governments (LGU-P4) at the DILG-Napolcom Center yesterday.
He said the agency which teams up with an LGU can help look for partners to finance their program or project.
“The mayors of Zamboanga Sibugay Province said they had no water for drinking and irrigation. So I asked our PPP people and the World Bank. Both expressed their willingness to help not only financially but also in capability building,” Sueno said.
The secretary said some local executives have entered into public-private partnerships even before the project was officially launched.
Valenzuela City through the leadership of Mayor Rexlon Gatchalian has completed two PPP projects.
In line with this, Sueno recognized the efforts of the volunteer partners of the DILG particularly Atty. Alberto Agra who agreed to work as a consultant for the department at P1 a year salary, and is currently the DILG advisor on LGU P4.
Undersecretary Austere Panadero said LGU P4 is not only about infrastructure development, but also about providing faster and better basic services to the people.
Also present during the launch and signing of the memorandum of agreement on LGU-P4 were: DILG Undersecretaries Emily Padilla and John Castriciones; Director Anna Liza Bonagua of the Bureau of Local Government Development (BLGD) ; Jose Luis Yulo, Jr., President, Chamber of Commerce of the Philippine Islands; Crisanto Frianeza, Secretary – General, Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry; Atty. Edmund Abesamis, Liga ng mga Barangay/ Secretary – General, Union of Local Authorities of the Philippines (ULAP); Valenzuela City Mayor Rexlon Gatchalian; author and former acting Justice Secretary Justice Alberto C. Agra; Zamboanga del Sur Congresswoman Divina Grace Yu; and Ilocos Sur Governor Ryan Luis Singson, National President, League of Provinces of the Philippines (LPP), among others.