CITY OF SAN FERNANDO – In a bid to attract more private capital and hasten the growth and development of Pampanga, the provincial government has decided to adopt a socio-economic agenda patterned after the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) formula being pursued by the Aquino Administration.
This was explained by 3rd District Board Member Rosve Henson who represented Gov. Lilia “Nanay Baby” Pineda in last Friday’s special media forum conducted by members of the Capampangan in Media, Inc. (CAMI) at the Matutina Restaurant here.
Henson said the PPP formula will be adopted in order to fast-track the completion of programs and projects that can also impact on the Philippine economy. This means that from this year onward, Capitol will try to involve private investors in most of its programs and projects aimed at uplifting the socio-economic well-being of Kapampangans in particular and Filipinos in general, said Henson, majority floor leader of the provincial board.
He credited the adoption of the policy to Gov. Pineda, who insisted that Pampanga’s economic development program must be aligned with the PPP program of the national government in order to fast-track the completion of socio-economic programs and projects at the local government level.
In fact, he added, the sangguniang panlalawigan and the vice governor approved the governor’s policy proposal
because “we, the 12 board members were convinced by the governor’s position that the formulation and implementation of PPP-based economic agenda at the provincial government level could hasten Pampanga’s growth and development.”
“We also understood the governor’s motive in pushing for this policy thrust, that is to attract more private capital into the province,” Henson said, adding that the “governor is hopeful that this new policy could serve as a framework for all 19 towns and three cities of Pampanga, in the pursuit of their respective programs designed
to hasten development.”
Henson represented the governor who begged-off due to pressing official matters as the main resource person in the forum hosted weekly by CAMI in partnership with the Clark Development corp. (CDC) and the Social Security System (SSS).
According to Henson, the governor has actually begun implementing the PPP-based policy in the case of provincial hospitals, particularly in the sourcing of medical supplies.
Under this program, the provincial government has started accrediting private suppliers of medicines to the provincial hospitals “to save on costs, particularly in the areas of inventory and warehousing to promote transparency in the institutions’ financial dealings and to ensure that the medicines are not expired, according to Henson, a member of the Kambilan Party chaired by Pineda.
At present 30 percent of Pampanga’s annual P1.2-billion budget is earmarked for the administration of the hospitals, led by the Diosdado Macapagal Memorial Hospital, the status of which was elevated to provincial hospital a few years back following the elevation of the J.B. Lingad hospital into a regional institution under the direct supervision of the Department of Health.
The Capitol is now also toying with the idea of tapping the private sector in the management, and improvement, of Pampanga’s parks and tourists destinations, like the St. Peter Shrine in Apalit, Mt. Arayat National Park in San Juan Baňo, Arayat and the Paskuhan Village in the City of San Fernando.
In line with this new thrust, Henson announced that the Capitol has mounted an outreach program to the barangay units, called “Kapitolyo sa Barangay,” to inform residents on the “why’s and how’s” of dealing with the various offices of the provincial government.
Under this program, the Capitol has committed to organize a complete team to visit the barangay units for information and education purposes, as well as explain the provincial government’s socio-economic- linked programs and projects.
