MANILA: The Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Center has 109 projects in the pipeline for undertaking between the government and private sectors that can boost the Marcos administration’s Build Better More infrastructure program, its Deputy Executive Director Eleazar Ricote said.

In a press chat in Quezon City Friday, Ricote said estimated costs for these 109 projects will reach PHP2.4 trillion.

He noted that 97 of these projects are at the national level and the other 12 are for implementation by local government units (LGUs).

Projects in the pipeline are those that have been in various stages of procurement and with no signed contracts yet.

Ricote cited some of the PPP projects in the pipeline, which include the Bislig City Bulk Water Supply and Septage Project in Surigao del Sur, the Dialysis Center and Renal Facility of the Baguio General Hospital and Medical Center, and the operation and rehabilitation project of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.

He also named three unsolicited projects– the T
arlac-Pangasinan-La Union Expressway Extension to San Juan, La Union; the PHP9.4 billion Univeristy of the Philippines-Philippine General Hospital Cancer Center; and the recently awarded Baggao Water Supply Project.

PPP Code

As President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. signed Republic Act 11966, or the PPP Code of the Philippines, early this month, PPP Center Deputy Executive Director Jeffrey Manalo said the new law will simplify and expedite the approval of projects.

This, as the PPP Code raised the threshold for project approval by the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Board, which is chaired by Marcos, from PHP300 million to PHP15 billion.

‘So, only those projects amounting to PHP15 billion and up will need the approval of the President through the NEDA Board. Everything else below PHP15 billion will be left to the head of the implementing agency or the Board-if GOCCs (government-owned and controlled corporations), for instance have their own boards, their approving body would be their boards.
And these are usually interagency,’ Manalo said, noting that this will apply to national projects.

However, there are still projects that would need the Investment Coordination Committee’s approval even if its project cost is below the threshold.

These include projects that will be needing availability payments, projects that will physical affect previous approved projects by the government, and those that will affect national master plans or sectoral development plans.

‘For local projects, the framework is simple. Regardless of projects costs, LGUs may do their own PPPs subject to the approval of the local Sanggunian,’ Manalo added.

Local projects that would need endorsement from the Regional Development Council are those that will affect national master plans and sectoral development plans, as well as those will be connected to a national asset, and those that would need financial undertaking that will bind the national government.

Manalo said out of the 109 projects in the pipeline, 22 projects breach
the PHP15 billion threshold.

Meanwhile, PPP projects that are being implemented number to 181, with a total project cost of PHP2.6 trillion. Some 121 projects are at the national level and 60 are at the local level.

The implementing rules and regulations of the PPP Code is expected to be effective early second quarter of 2024, Manalo said.
Source: Philippines News Agency

BAGUIO: A city lawmaker has proposed to make Everlasting as Baguio’s official flower, liking the flower’s longevity and resiliency to that of the country’s summer capital.

Councilor Betty Lourdes Tabanda filed the proposed ordinance last November 23 and it was approved on first reading on December 11, more than three decades after the city government adopted Everlasting as its official flower in 1991.

The proposed ordinance will give the earlier resolution more teeth, symbolizing how the city thrives amidst any problems, and hopefully will encourage more people to prefer the flower over other varieties for leis and brooches.

In an interview Friday, Tabanda said the city has endured many challenges, the biggest of which is the magnitude 7.7 earthquake in 1990, but the local economy continues to bloom and flourish.

‘Like the garland of everlasting, Baguio and its people stand strong, intertwined by common aspirations and embody the unique charm of Baguio,’ according to the ordinance.

Tabanda said the flowe
r, which has different colors such as golden yellow, pink, orange, violet, brown, red, and ivory white and is made into a garland for offering at altars and leis during graduation rites, also represents the rich culture of the city.

Rosalia See, an employee at the Baguio City Hall, said she gets to receive several Everlasting leis during the recognition ceremony at the closing of the school year as a present for her school achievements.

‘It was hung on my neck every year and the one that I got the year before is given to another family member like an inheritance passed on to the next generation,’ she told the Philippine News Agency on Friday.

The Everlasting flower lasts long and remains beautiful either fresh or dried grows best in full sun and thrives best in high altitudes, adapting to local conditions.
Source: Philippines News Agency

LAOAG: Fifty-six passengers from Cebu landed at Laoag International Airport in Ilocos Norte on the inaugural Philippine Airlines flight on Friday.

Ilocos Norte Governor Matthew Joseph Manotoc and the Ilocos Norte Tourism and Investment Offices welcomed the visitors of the 2 1/2-hour direct flight via an 86-seater De Havilland Dash 8 400 NG aircraft.

‘This is a momentous event and we are very excited because we will open up our small and humble province of Ilocos Norte to the central and southern Philippines,’ Manotoc said in a simple program at the airport’s arrival area where guests were greeted with sumptuous snacks and dance performances.

Until Dec. 19, the passengers from Cebu will be toured around the province.

The province will also stage “Himala sa Buhangin,” a music and arts festival at the Paoay sand dunes.

Manotoc said Ilocos Norte has ‘hidden gems” that include Badoc Island, a white-sand, virgin beach Island in Badoc town; and the Solsona-Apayao road, which offers a scenic view of lush greener
y, Cordillera mountain range, and at times, a sea of clouds.

‘I’d like to always say that we are the only province in the Philippines that can offer a slice of Dubai, a slice of dunes, of Boracay in our white-sand beach in Pagudpud, and a slice of Baguio in Solsona-Apayao road,’ he said.

PAL president and chief operating officer Stanley Ng expressed hopes that the brand-new route will open up a new market for tourists and business travellers, both local and international.

He said the new Cebu-Laoag-Cebu flight will be available twice a week, every Tuesdays and Fridays.

The Cebu-Laoag flight leaves 7:35 a.m. and Laoag-Cebu at 10:25 a.m.
Source: Philippines News Agency

TACLOBAN: The mayors of Ormoc City and Kananga in Leyte were elated over the recognition of their respective local governments as among this year’s recipients of the Seal of Good Local Governance (SGLG) from the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG).

Ormoc is one of the two cities in Eastern Visayas that has received the highest recognition from the department – a back-to-back win – along with Maasin City, the capital of Southern Leyte province.

‘I am very proud because we worked for the whole year and we don’t know when our work is going to be appreciated, and for us to snag the SGLG for a second in a row sits very well in our hearts because everything that we are doing now is building up on what former mayor Richard (Gomez) has done,’ Mayor Lucy Torres-Gomez said when asked for her reaction on Friday.

Sustaining the SGLG award was Kananga Mayor Manuel Vicente Torres’ challenge to the local government’s department head and town council members after the town bagged the award this year.

T
his is the first time that Kananga, the host of the largest geothermal energy plant in Asia, has received the SGLG award.

Along with Kananga, four other towns in Leyte province – Albuera, Barugo, San Miguel, and Tabon-tabon – also earned this prestigious award from the national government given to local governments for exemplary performance in transparency and accountability.

Other towns included as SGLG awardees from the region are Almeria, Cabucgayan, and Kawayan in Biliran province; Hinunangan, Libagon, Liloan, Macrohon, Padre Burgos, San Juan, Silago, Sogod, and Saint Bernard in Southern Leyte; Basey, Jiabong, and Motiong in Samar; and Arteche, Quinapondan, and Sulat in Eastern Samar.

In the provincial category, the SGLG 2023 winners are Biliran, Leyte, Samar, and Northern Samar.

Each awardee received an SGLG marker and SGLG incentive fund amounting to PHP4 million for provinces, PHP2.3 million for cities, and PHP1.8 million for towns.

The DILG held the national awarding at the Fiesta Pavilion, The M
anila Hotel on Thursday night.

To win the SGLG, a local government must pass the assessment criteria in 10 governance areas: financial administration; disaster preparedness; social protection and sensitivity; health compliance and responsiveness; sustainable education; business friendliness and competitiveness; safety, peace, and order; environmental management; tourism, heritage development, culture, and the arts; and youth development.
Source: Philippines News Agency

BACOLOD: Anti-drug operatives of Bacolod City Police Office arrested two suspects and seized PHP1.57 million worth of shabu during a buy-bust in Barangay 2 here on Friday.

The suspects were identified as Michael John Tabara, a high-value individual, and his companion Janclyde Pillora.

In a report, the City Drug Enforcement Unit said around 3:28 a.m., Tabara sold shabu worth PHP10,000 to an undercover policeman at a residence in the village’s Purok Sigay.

Operatives also found in the suspects’ possession two knot-tied and four big heat-sealed transparent plastic sachets containing 232 grams of shabu.

Pegged at PHP6,800 per gram, the recovered illegal drugs were valued at about PHP1.57 million.

Seized non-drug items included PHP250 cash and a sling bag, the report added.

Both suspects are detained at the custodial facility of Police Station 2.

Charges for violation of Section 5 (sale of dangerous drugs) and Section 11 (possession of dangerous drugs) are being readied against Tabara while against Pillora,
only for violation of Section 11 of Republic Act 9165 or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002.
Source: Philippines News Agency

MANILA: A significant majority or 70 percent of adult Filipinos expressed support for the government’s public utility vehicle modernization program (PUVMP), according to the results of a survey conducted by research and analytics firm Capstone-Intel Corp. released on Friday.

The survey, conducted from Nov. 22-29 involving 1,503 respondents, showed that 70 percent of the respondents approved of the government’s performance on PUV modernization, with 41 percent rating the program as “good” and 29 percent giving it a “very good” performance rating.

Only 5 percent rated the government’s performance as negative, while 24 percent were neutral.

The survey findings were released following the announcement of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. that the Dec. 31 deadline for the consolidation of PUV operators and drivers will no longer be extended.

Marcos noted that to date, around 70 percent of all operators have already committed to and consolidated under the PUVMP.

He said the consolidation of PUVs would push thr
ough for the benefit of the country amid plans to modernize the public transport system.

Under the PUVMP, operators and drivers will be organized into cooperatives or corporations to ensure the efficiency of its operations with an upgraded fleet of low-carbon emission, safe and efficient PUV units.

Capstone-Intel Research and Publications Director Ella Kristina Domingo-Coronel, however, stressed that the high percentage of support for the modernization program does not mean that the government can be complacent on its policies for PUVs, especially in providing support for jeepney drivers and operators.

“So, of course, lahat ng tao, gusto ng modernization, gusto natin ng modern public transportation system (everyone wants modernization, we want a modern public transportation system). And obviously, survey respondents are in favor of it. But that doesn’t stop the government from ensuring that those who will be displaced will have a source of income because no one should be left behind,” she said.

The poll a
lso showed that jeepneys are the second most commonly used mode of land transportation in the country, utilized by 34 percent of respondents. Motorcycles are the most popular mode of transportation, with 37 percent of respondents using them.

The study also explored Filipinos’ transportation expenses, both on personal and household levels.

For individuals, 75 percent said they spend less than PHP500 a week.

On household level, the study revealed a moderately higher proportion of weekly transportation budget, with 54 percent saying they spend less than PHP500 a week, while 43 percent said they spend even more.
Source: Philippines News Agency