Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno said the government is planning to amend the implementing rules and regulations (IRR) of the Build-Operate-Transfer Law.
This aims to improve the investment climate and attract more private investors to undertake Public-Private Partnerships (PPP) for the Marcos Jr. administration’s infrastructure program, the Department of Finance (DOF) said in a statement released yesterday.
“We are planning to amend some of the provisions in the IRR (of) the PPP to really attract the private sector to participate in our Build, Build, Build program,” Diokno said.
Diokno was asked about the specific provisions eyed to be amended but he has not responded as of press time.
In his first State of the Nation Address, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said infrastructure development will remain a top priority of his administration to drive employment, agriculture, tourism, and overall economic growth.
The Marcos administration plans to interconnect the archipelago and sustain infrastructure investments at 5 to 6 percent of gross domestic product annually until 2028.
The DOF said infrastructure development will focus on mass transit, railway systems and more airports and seaports.
According to Diokno, the Duterte administration had turned over to the Marcos administration several big-ticket and shovel-ready projects.
Diokno banks on the rapid expansion of the economy to generate higher tax revenues that will be used to finance infrastructure development.
He said better tax administration through digitalization in both the Bureau of Customs and the Bureau of Internal Revenue can substantially increase government revenues.
He added the plan to rightsize the bureaucracy can lead to more efficient government operations and better delivery of public services.
Diokno cited the approval of the amendments to the almost century-old Public Service Act as a complementary reform that would encourage investors to come in and implement some of the projects under PPP.
“Now, foreign investors can participate in key areas — telecommunication, toll roads, shipping, airports — and they can own them 100 percent. I think with that combination — with the PPP projects and that new environment — I think we will be attracting a lot of foreign direct investments into the country,” Diokno said.