PPP for ‘perpetual private profiteering’

Everybody seems so excited about the projected new round of spending spree. But what are the benefits, trade offs and the finer details of the contracts? I am quite certain that these big projects are all on public-private partnerships (PPPs), why else would anyone be salivating? Are the finer points of these PPPs explained coherently and to the best understanding of the public?

Sometimes when we hear about a PPP, it sounds or is made to appear like a private company or enterprise is coming to look after the public’s welfare and interest—like some corporate sponsor of a summer league or marathon run.

Private-for-profit organizations looking after the public’s interest cannot be found in any place in the world. Much less in our country. So why does our government need a private partner anyway? Are government officials too inept to run the country? Private corporations have no incentive to open their financial books for public scrutiny, not that we have public sector transparency in our laws anyway.

Our country never defaulted on debts; so I doubt that we have a bad credit rating with any of the world’s financial/funding institutions. So I see no reason why we would need a private corporation to take care of the funding and operation of public projects.

PPP projects may not have been all bad, but one that strikes me is the South Luzon Expressway (SLEx). As far as I can remember, it has been a toll road since the 1970s; at one point, it was deemed by a Pasig court already fully paid for. But right now the RFID (radio-frequency IDentification) payments are handled by the Skyway management whose personnel wear skyway management uniforms, which probably makes it safe to assume that Skyway is the one managing and collecting for SLEx and Skyway. That’s a pretty sweet deal for them and absolutely no incentive to improve the actual Skyway. They basically have a monopoly awarded to them or handed to them by the government in the guise of a PPP.

I think the barriers that separate the service roads should be dismantled already to open up and transform SLEx into an Edsa. The traffic in those service roads is very horrendous.

Imagine the growth in those areas if SLEx becomes like Edsa?

There are factories and business there already. Traffic in other roadways can be eased up. Traffic as usual is inevitable, but it will also benefit Skyway since its use will increase and it will be forced to widen and extend the roads as well.

We have to be vigilant with contracts that our government enters into on our behalf; it may end up becoming a bane or, worse, a perpetual cash cow for a very select few, thus changing the meaning of PPP to “perpetual private profiteering.”

JOSE SANTAMARIA,
j_e_santamaria@hotmail.com