Public-Private Partnership (PPP) as an Alternative Model to Public Infrastructure Development and Service Delivery: The Case of PPP-Public Markets in the Philippines

The study examined the internalization of core-values of New Public Management (NPM) among Local Government Units (LGUs) in the Philippines in their effort to reform the management and operation of public markets. Using Public-Private Partnership (PPP) as a framework of NPM for infrastructure development and service delivery, the study assessed the performance of PPP/BOT Public Markets in addressing the perennial problems of public markets in the Philippines. It inquired whether or not PPP as an instrument of reform has improved the management and operation of public markets.To substantiate the assessment, five pioneering PPP public markets in the country were examined, namely; Mandaluyong Public Market in Mandaluyong City, Carmen and Cogon Public Markets in Cagayan de Oro City, Suki Market in Quezon City, and Bocaue Public Market in Bocaue, Bulacan. It used organization and management, the scope of facilities and services, LGU-revenue income and expenditures, and income of market vendors, and client satisfaction on the quality of facilities and services as performance indicators. The data of the study were obtained through combined research methodologies such as case study, content analysis, ocular inspection, and interviews with the city and municipal administrators, market administrators, market vendors, and officers of market vendors associations.The study shows that while PPP has improved the performance of public markets during the early years of operation, these gains and all advances were not sustained by the LGUs when management and operation of public markets were turned over to them from the private project proponent-operators. The study argued that in order to sustain public-private partnerships in the operation of the public market, it is imperative to institutionalize reforms in the structure, processes, mindsets of the leaders, and stakeholders. The institutionalization of NPM’s core values can be carried out effectively through localization of PPP as a policy so that the necessary legal and institutional frameworks for PPP will be anchored based on the need, strength, and weaknesses of the LGU concerned.The study makes a positive contribution to the on-going discourse on public sector reform in the Philippines particularly at the local level using PPP as a model. It enriches not only the literature of Public Administration but also provides valuable lessons in the praxis of governance.