The Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Center of the Philippines participated in two international events on procurement integrity organized by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the State of Sarawak, Malaysia.
The events, held from Aug. 27 to 28, 2025, in Kuching, Sarawak, focused on the theme “Integrity in Public Procurement: The Key to Sustainable Development.”
The first event was the High-Level Forum on Integrity in Public Procurement, which aimed to promote commitment to procurement reforms and strengthen partnerships between the public sector, industry and civil society.
It also served as a platform to share best practices and innovative strategies for enhancing transparency and integrity in public procurement.
The Regional Workshop on Best Practices for Integrity in Public Procurement followed the forum, gathering government representatives from Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines. The workshop explored ways to modernize procurement frameworks, use technology and data analytics to prevent corruption, enhance integrity in high-risk sectors, and involve non-state actors in monitoring and accountability.
PPP Center deputy executive director Eleazar Ricote gave a presentation on “The Philippine PPP Program: Procurement Reforms, Innovations and Enduring Challenges.” He outlined the legal and procurement framework under the new PPP Code of the Philippines and its Implementing Rules and Regulations.
“The Philippines is the first in the region to have established a PPP Code and PPP Program not just as a development and financing strategy but as a distinct procurement option to harness private sector finance, efficiencies and innovation,” Ricote said.
He also discussed PPP as a procurement mechanism, key reforms including strengthened guidelines for PPP Units and Procurement Committees and ongoing challenges and reforms by the PPP Center.
“The PPP Center is a dedicated agency established to pursue said PPP Procurement Framework, through its established mandates of PPP project structuring, evaluation and monitoring, capacity building, policy reforms and knowledge management,” Ricote said.
The workshop also provided participants with knowledge of international standards under the United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC) and highlighted how open contracting, access to information, and technological innovations can prevent corruption throughout the procurement cycle.
