PE2 wants BOT law IRR to explicitly include EE&C projects
MAKATI CITY, 16 March 2022 - The Philippine Energy Efficiency Alliance (PE2) submitted to the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Center today its comments on the Proposed Amendments to the 2012 Revised Implementing Rules & Regulations (IRR) to the Philippine Amended Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) Law.
PE2 president Alexander Ablaza, who concurrently chairs the PE2 Policy Committee, said in the submission that recent energy efficiency and conservation (EE&C) policy issuances point to the BOT Law as a legal basis for a procurement modality for EE&C projects implemented in the public sector. He said that Section 11 of Republic Act No. 11285, better known as the EE&C Act, cites “Republic Act No. 6957, otherwise known as “An Act Authorizing the Financing, Construction, Operation and Maintenance of Infrastructure Projects by the Private Sector, and For Other Purposes”, as amended by Republic Act No. 7718” and that Section 9 of Resolution No. 5, series of 2022, of the Inter-Agency Energy Efficiency and Conservation Committee (IAEECC) identifies “RA 6957, as amended by RA 7718, or the BOT Law” among the governing laws for the procurement of goods and services for the implementation of Government Energy Efficiency Projects (GEEPS).
On behalf of PE2, Ablaza said, “It is clear that the IRR of the BOT Law should qualify energy efficiency and conservation projects. We therefore seek explicit inclusion of “energy efficiency and conservation” among the listed eligible types of projects. PE2 said that while Section 2.2 of the IRR mentions climate change mitigation, there is a need for explicit mention of “energy efficiency and conservation” projects because climate change mitigation may likely not be the only purpose or intent of such project.”
PE2 also sought the harmonization of the Government Energy Management Program (GEMP) Guidelines, as contained in Annex A of IAEECC Resolution No. 5, s.2002, with the BOT IRR’s Detailed Guidelines for the Approval of Projects. The Alliance explained that, in general, EE&C projects are “smaller in size, uncomplicated in scope, possessing low to zero negative impacts, and would therefore need a simplified, fast-track project approval process with the corresponding endorsement of the Department of Energy through its Energy Utilization Management Bureau.”
On 4 March 2022, the PPP Center, on behalf of the BOT Law IRR Committee, invited all partner stakeholders and the public to provide inputs and comments on the proposed amendments to the current IRR of the amended BOT Law. The BOT Law IRR Committee considered three main objectives for the proposed amendments: (1) Facilitate the development of well-structured PPPs that deliver high-quality services to the public; (2) Protect the government and the public from excessive payments, undue guarantees, unnecessary fiscal risk, and onerous contractual obligations from PPP projects; and, (3) Promote the interest of the Filipinos who ultimately pay the costs of infrastructure projects and the returns of proponents of PPP projects.
