Deputy Speaker Ralph Recto on Thursday said pay-per-use public infrastructure, such as roads and airports, should be affordable to end users, and must be considered—and even disclosed—from the outset.
In considering public-privatel partnership (PPP) projects, willingness-to-pay surveys and consultations must be done exhaustively, Recto said.
“There has to have public consultations. Feasibility studies should include ability-to-pay data. And this must be highlighted in disclosures. Not reduced to a fine print, nor hidden,” Recto said.
The same “sensitivity to consumers” should cover information technology projects, which Recto described as a “boom industry in the bureaucracy.”
He said “reasonable pricing” for the use of infrastructure projects is a must “to allow low-income groups to enjoy it. Otherwise, if priced too high, it defeats the objective of inclusivity.”
Recto said fees, tolls, charges, and other payments must be calibrated carefully “because too high will be a barrier to some users, while setting it too low might result in taxpayer subsidies.”
The former senator was referring to qualified cases of viability gap funding when a shortfall in the number of users trigger the contractual obligation of the government to shoulder the difference.
“To be clear, proponents have the right to reasonable returns. For investing in projects government should have undertaken, they are entitled to earnings…,” he said.
In disclosing the projected payment for use, the amount can be a range, “from a minimum of this amount, which is better than leaving it blank or keeping it a secret.”
“And people would have no qualms of paying if they see that the benefits outweigh the cost, as in the case of many PPP projects,” he said.
Recto said the use of PPP projects should be priced the way they are built – “under the sun.”
