City inks MOA with PPP Center to fasttrack rehab projects

BAGUIO CITY – The city government and the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Center entered into a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) Friday at City Hall aimed to provide a framework for cooperation and coordination between the two parties.
Mayor Benjamin Magalong and Vice Mayor Faustino Olowan represented the city government while Undersecretary and Executive Director Ferdinand Pecson and Director III Jomel Anthony Gutierrez the PPP Center in the MOA signing. It was witnessed by several local officials and department heads.
The Mayor said that the MOA signing is a good development as regards to the city’s rehabilitation and environmental programs that it is aggressively pushing to be fasttracked and entails the participation of the private sector.
Magalong disclosed that these programs include the modernization of the public market; an integrated transportation project; a multi-level structure for parking; sewerage system; and others that he claimed would not entail any costs to the local government.
The Mayor stressed that the numerous private sector proposals currently being received by the city is due to its commitment to good governance, transparency with zero tolerance of corruption, and by working together as a team moving towards the same direction.
Magalong also pointed out that as far as he can recall, there has never been a successful PPP project implemented in the city.
For his part, Pecson agreed that among the important “key success factors” in the implementation of PPP projects are good governance and team work.
He added that the PPP Center is “standing behind the city government of Baguio as the country’s Summer Capital in getting its objectives accomplished at the soonest time possible.”
Pecson assured local officials and department heads present that the PPP Center will assist the city government by giving its assessment and advice on various PPP proposals and help formulate risk management plans if need be.-/Gaby Keith