By Francis Allan L. Angelo
Iloilo International Airport and other key infrastructure projects in Western Visayas are set to be included in the growing pipeline of public-private partnership (PPP) ventures valued at PHP 3.18 trillion, the PPP Center announced.
The projects aim to enhance regional infrastructure and support economic development, particularly in areas like Iloilo and Negros Occidental.
The Iloilo International Airport project, one of the major developments in the region, is due for submission to approving bodies by the end of this year.
The project is part of a broader effort to modernize and improve the country’s airport facilities, providing increased capacity and more efficient operations for both domestic and international travelers.
Additionally, the Negros Occidental Bulk Water Supply Project (NOBWSP), valued at around PHP 28 billion, is scheduled to be awarded by the end of this year.
NOBWSP aims to address critical water supply issues in the province and is expected to improve access to clean and reliable water for residents and industries alike.
Other notable projects in the PPP pipeline that impact Western Visayas include the Boracay Bridge project, which aims to improve connectivity to one of the country’s premier tourist destinations. This project is also due for submission to the approving bodies this year.
The public-private partnership pipeline now includes 169 projects nationwide, with 113 national and 56 local PPP projects in various stages of development.
According to the PPP Center, of the local projects, 16 were solicited while 40 were unsolicited. These projects represent a significant investment in the country’s infrastructure, helping meet growing demands and boosting regional economies.
In his remarks at a recent forum, National Economic and Development Authority Secretary Arsenio M. Balisacan highlighted the role of PPPs in building climate-resilient infrastructure. “Limited fiscal space, especially in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, necessitates developing our governance framework for public-private partnerships to finance climate-resilient infrastructure,” Balisacan said.
President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. also emphasized the need for investment in disaster risk reduction. “Sustained and predictable data and financing would help address disaster risks better,” he noted, pointing to the critical importance of infrastructure resilience in the face of climate change and natural disasters.
It would be great to have all those PPP infrastructure projects done in Western Visayas and wherever it is needed
However, before such ambitious projects, LGUs should also pay attention to local roads & bridges that need repair.
To showcase the country as an desirable/ ideal tourist destination, not only airports where tourists first lay their yes upon arrival but also interior parts, rural roads which are in disrepair with pot holes, should be fixed.
Moreover, better garbage management and sanitation must be prioritized.
It is imperative to have a transparent and accountable government from the national level down to the lowest government unit to have enough resources to provide technical assistance, personnel and materials such as receptacles, garbage trucks, and proper dump sites.
In this connection, the citizens should get organized nationwide and lobby their representatives in congress to sponsor legislation to create an Independent Anti- Graft and Corruption Agency to curb rampant/prevalent graft and corruption that bleeds the country of necessary resources to meet basic needs..
It is up to the Pilipino citizens to exact transparency and accountability from their leaders by entering into a publicized covenant that they will vote & support in the next elections only those who will introduce & support legislation that will create a long over due Independent Anti- Graft & Corruption Agency.
If it is going to be, it will be up to well informed , organized and proactive Pilipinos to initiate lasting reforms; not up to the entrenched habitually power hungry greedy politicians who are only after their self interests.
If other nations managed to have the political will, to fight graft and corruption, would the Pilipinos finally have the political will?.
Why not???