|
By Bert Hofman
Country Director, World Bank Philippines
May 14, 2008, DBP Auditorium, Makati City
Approval of the Second National Roads Improvement and Management Project We are pleased to announce that yesterday, the World Bank's Board of Executive Directors has approved the Second National Roads Improvement and Management Project (NRIMP2). The US$232 million NRIMP2 loan is the second part of a three-phase APL loan program from the WB designed to build, maintain, and improve national roads in the Philippines through stronger business processes and reforms for financing and managing roads. NRIMP2 will support the improvement of 450 kilometers of national arterial roads and bridges and a comprehensive road maintenance program. The Project includes reforms to improve the effectiveness of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) in managing the national road system. The Project aims to develop an extensive road network that will enhance local competitiveness, help promote economic growth, and provide adequate all-year reliable and safe access throughout the country. A significant number of those roads being improved and developed are in the poorer provinces as well as conflict-affected areas of the Visayas and Mindanao. Better roads mean people have more access to markets, get better prices for their produce and families can send their children to school on safer and more reliable roads. Better roads also attract more investment, which creates jobs and income for Filipinos. By modernizing the country’s road management through stronger business processes and reforming the institutions that finance and manage roads, everyone in the Philippines stands to benefit. This Project is not just about building roads; it's also about building stronger governance and fighting corruption. The good news is that the Government of the Philippines and the World Bank with the help of civil society groups will be working together to have real impact. If you will recall, in the first phase, the World Bank rejected two large road contracts in three successive rounds of bidding because of strong signs of collusion and excessive pricing. This led to an investigation by the Bank’s Department of Institutional Integrity (INT) that had the full support of the Philippine Government. The report of the INT has been referred to the Government as well as to the Bank's Evaluation Officer, who is in the process of determining whether the report warrants the imposition of sanctions on the firms involved. Lessons learned from that investigation enabled us to strengthen NRIMP2 with a battery of stronger anti-corruption measures, including: Use of an Independent Procurement Evaluator (IPE) to improve the transparency and integrity of procurement processes. Further enhanced procurement controls to ensure the reliability of contract cost estimates, detect over-pricing through bid analysis, enhance supervision control over contract variations and disseminate complaints mechanism in bid documents. Strengthening internal controls and internal audit capacity in the Department of Public Works & Highways. Adoption of Enhanced Business Processes – With increased use of computerized business systems and enhanced processes for procurement and financial management, the efficiency of transaction processing will be improved and opportunities for interference reduced. Independent Oversight by Civil Society – A coalition of citizen and road user groups has been established, named “RoadWatch” (“Bantay Lansangan”), to strengthen the voice and influence of citizens in ensuring transparency and proper use of public funds for roads, and to counter corruption at high levels of government and society.
The President of the World Bank, Mr. Robert Zoellick, is impressed with the Government of the Philippines' commitment to the Roads Project. Indeed, this Project is one example of how a proactive stance on the part of the Government working in tandem with the World Bank could go a long way in strengthening the systems and combating corruption while delivering what is essential for sustained economic growth and development of the Philippines. The Board approval of NRIMP2 comes a few days after the Bank approved a total of US$1.16 Million in grants under its Institutional Development Fund (IDF) to improve governance in the Philippines. The grants build capacity and improve efficiency of the Commission on Audit, the Department of Budget and Management, and the Local Government Academy. ###
|
RSS