Marcos reorganizes PPP Governing Board

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has reorganized the Public-Private Partnership Governing Board (PPPGB) in a bid to boost private sector participation in big-ticket projects of the government.

In a statement on Saturday, the Presidential Communications Office (PCO) said Marcos issued Executive Order No. 30, which reorganized the composition of the PPPGB.

The latest EO, signed June 2, 2023, titled “Strengthening Private Sector Participation in the Public-Private Partnership Governing Board Established Under Executive Order No. 136 (S. 2013), and Further Amending EO No. 8 (S. 2010), As Amended, For the Purpose,” states that there is a need to make changes in view of the reorganization of the National Competitive Council (NCC), according to the PCO.

In particular, the EO No. 8 reorganized the Build-Operate-Transfer Center and renamed it as the PPP Center, an attached agency to the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) mandated to serve as the central coordinating and monitoring agency for all PPP projects in the country.

Meanwhile, under Section 3A of EO No. 8, the private sector co-chairperson of the NCC is one of the members of the PPPGB.

However, the PCO said the EO No. 30 said that Republic Act No. 11032 or the Ease of Doing Business and Efficient Government Service Delivery Act of 2018 “reorganized the NCC as the Ease of Doing Business and Anti-Red Tape Advisory Council, rendering the position of the Private Sector Co-Chairperson of the NCC inexistent.”

As the overall policy-making body for all PPP-related matters, including the Project Development and Monitoring Fund (PDMF), EO No. 30 states that the PPPGB will also be responsible “for setting the strategic direction of the PPP Program and creating an enabling policy and institutional environment for PPP,” according to the PCO.

The Palace said that the PPPGB will be composed of the Socio-Economic Planning secretary as chairperson, Secretary of Finance as vice chairperson, and with the Secretaries of Finance, Budget and Management, Justice, Trade and Industry, and Executive Secretary as its members.

The EO also said that one representative from the private sector, "coming from a reputable organization in the banking, business, or infrastructure sector," would be appointed by the President.

“The private sector representative shall promptly notify the PPPGB of any actual, perceived, or potential conflict of interest which could affect the performance of his/her duties as a member of the Governing Board,” the EO added.

The PCO, citing the EO, said the chairperson and three other members of the Board shall constitute a quorum and a majority vote of the members present shall be necessary for the adoption of any issuance, order, resolution, decision, or other acts of the Board in the exercise of its functions.

“Except as expressly modified by this Order, all other provisions of EO No. 8, as amended, shall remain in full force and effect,” the order read. —KG, GMA Integrated News