Office of the Vice President : Press Release

Ms. Ronadale Zapata
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VP ENDORSES FOR 4Cs FOR SUCCESSFUL PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP
23 October 2005

The significance of the successful partnership between the public and private sectors again highlighted the speech of Vice President Noli ‘Kabayan’ De Castro before officials and guests at the recognition event of the private-sector-led Step-Up program or the strategic private sector partnerships for urban poverty reduction program at the Asian Development Bank (ADB) office in Mandaluyong City recently.

VP ARRIVES IN ADB FOR STEP-UP RECOGNITION EVENT. Vice President and concurrent HUDCC chair Noli ‘Kabayan’ De Castro is accompanied by (from left) Japanese Ambassador Ryuichiro Yamasaki; Joseph Eichenberger, ADB Vice President and Amarjit S. Wasan, ADB Deputy Secretary upon the VP’s arrival for the 3rd Anniversary and Recognition Day of the Strategic Private Sector Partnership for Urban Poverty Reduction (Step-up) Program held at the Asian Development Bank (ADB) in Mandaluyong City. (photo by Egay Montaña)

As a private-sector-led program, the Step-Up program has indeed been an instrument for private sector involvement in addressing urban poverty.

In recognizing the achievements of the Step–Up program of the Philippine Business for Social Progress (PBSP), Vice President De Castro expressed his gratitude to the ADB for making possible the implementation of the program under the Japanese fund for poverty reduction. He also thanked the partner organizations of the Step-Up program and the local government executives who actively worked to make the program’s framework a success.

VP NOLI EXPRESSES GRATITUDE TO ADB. Vice President and concurrent HUDCC chairman Noli ‘Kabayan’ De Castro highlighted the significance of the successful partnership between the private and public sectors in his speech during the 3rd Anniversary and Recognition Day of the Strategic Private Sector Partnership for Urban Poverty Reduction (Step-up) Program held at ADB in Mandaluyong City. (photo by Egay Montaña)

The Vice President also took the occasion to share the basic requirements he simply calls as the 4 C’s for a successful public-private sector partnership. The first C is commitment where an official declaration of support is concretely supported by an organizational orientation towards the values and strategies being espoused by the partnership in the desire to help urban poor communities. The second C he mentioned is communication that entails dialogue, and necessarily requires both parties to listen to what the others have to say. The third C is collaboration, perhaps the most visible aspect of partnership that covers all phases of the project cycle: from conceptualization, to detailed planning, to actual implementation, until termination, all of which require sharing of resources and time in order to achieve common goals which would empower the beneficiaries, rather than increase their dependence on outside intervention. Lastly, the fourth C is continuing change accompanied by flexibility in dealing with change. All these C’s, he believes, would further strengthen the bond that has developed with joint government and non-governmental organization (NGO) undertakings.

VP NOLI THANKS PARTNER ORGANIZATIONS OF STEP-UP PROGRAM. Vice President and concurrent HUDCC chair Noli 'Kabayan' De Castro shares a light moment with Manuel Pangilinan, Chair of Philippine Business for Social Progress (PBSP) and Chairman of PLDT during the 3rd Anniversary and Recognition Day of the Strategic Private Sector Partnership for Urban Poverty Reduction (Step-up) Program held at the Asian Development Bank in Mandaluyong City. (photo by egay Montaña) 11/23/05

An important lesson learned from the Step-Up program on being community driven that yielded projects tailor-fitted to the needs of a community prompted Vice President De Castro to invite the ADB to examine the possibility of extending loans, not just grants, to qualified NGOs to implement projects that can reach out to more communities.

It is about time that donor communities begin to trust non-profit private organizations and provide loans for social development projects, such as shelter and community facilities.

Also the concurrent chairman of the Housing and Urban Developmental Coordinating Council (HUDCC), the Vice President reiterated the support of government and HUDCC, in particular, for the objectives, strategies, and projects being implemented by the Step-Up program.

Ref. VPMEDIA 05-180