Facing a narrower fiscal space in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Marcos administration has expressed its intent to increase its reliance on public-private partnerships (PPPs) to finance its PhP8.7 trillion Build, Better, More infrastructure program. The Philippines has a long history of implementing PPP projects since the passage of Republic Act 6957 or the Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) Law in 1990. Nonetheless, the potential of PPPs in the country’s infrastructure development remains underutilized due to various challenges pertaining to the allocation of risks, bureaucratic delays in project approval and procurement, lack of technical capacity to manage PPPs, policy inconsistencies, and transparency issues. Thus, the Marcos administration has prioritized the passage of a new PPP legislation (so-called the PPP Act) that seeks to improve the overall environment for PPP.
This policy brief aims to provide an overview of the current PPP landscape in the Philippines, show its importance in advancing economic growth and infrastructure development, and discuss the main issues with the existing BOT Law. The brief likewise highlights the features of the proposed PPP Act and provides comments and recommendations to further improve the proposed legislation.