18-page requirements checklist for unsolicited PPP proposals issued

Amid a flurry of unsolicited public-private partnership (PPP) infrastructure projects being pitched to the Duterte administration, the Investment Coordination Committee (ICC) has issued a checklist of requirements which private firms and implementing agencies must adhere to, or else face outright rejection of their proposals.

The ICC checklist of documentary requirements for unsolicited PPP proposals was aimed at avoiding a repeat of events in the past when incomplete submissions prompted the interagency body cochaired by the Department of Finance (DOF) and the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) to defer action on or reject projects.

The 18-page checklist is longer and more detailed than the two-page list issued by the ICC in 2016 for solicited PPP proposals.

Neda officials said on Friday the new checklist was just a reiteration of the requirements under various laws for PPP projects, even as some proposals submitted to the ICC fell short of these hurdles.

“The checklist is as provided by the Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) Law and its implementing rules and regulations (IRR) for sponsoring and implementing agencies and for ICC review,” Neda Undersecretary Jonathan Uy said.

“In unsolicited proposals, the qualification is done preaward, that is why there are more requirements. If solicited, the qualification is done during the bidding,” Acting Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Karl Kendrick Chua said.

“Projects are proposed/prepared/assessed by implementing agencies, whether locally funded, official development assistance-funded, solicited, or unsolicited. Neda ICC evaluates what is submitted to [it],” he added.

In all, unsolicited PPP proposals entailed the submission of 20 documents, more than the 13 required for solicited PPPs.

The 20 documents required included the following: project proposal with a complete feasibility study not older than three years old; nine ICC project evaluation forms; agency project evaluation report or report of due diligence; electronic copies of the economic and financial analyses; endorsement by head of oversight/mother agency; conferment of original proponent status by the agency; DOF-corporate affairs group review for government-owned and/or -controlled corporations’ projects; location map (with e-copy); right-of-way acquisition and resettlement action plan and ICC project evaluation matrix.

The ICC also required proponents to submit project context in the implementing agency’s overall strategy; information on job creation impact of the project; cover letter indicating basic information of the unsolicited proposal such as expected output and outcome, implementation period, general description of new technology/concept, and others; company profile; draft PPP contract consistent with the BOT Law IRR; proof of legal, technical and financial capability, and terms of proposed liability undertaking.

Post-ICC, additional requirements are environmental impact statement/environmental compliance certificate/certificate of noncoverage, and regional development council endorsement, and Department of Budget and Management certification of budget cover for the government’s counterpart, if applicable. INQ