By Justine Irish D. Tabile, Senior Reporter

THE Public-Private Partnership Center of the Philippines (PPP Center) is projecting a healthy flow of unsolicited proposals this year, reflecting sustained interest from private investors, who may have been spurred to play a bigger role in infrastructure after last year’s massive corruption scandal.

PPP Center Executive Director Rizza Blanco-Latorre said the growing number of unsolicited proposals submitted to the PPP Center also reflects a desire to sidestep delays inherent in solicited proposals.

“What happens (with solicited projects) is that the government develops the project. Maghihintay ’yung private sector kailan ipapabid (This will force investors to wait until projects are bid out). There are a lot of  private investors (who) cannot wait for the government,” she told BusinessWorld.

“Since they have the resources and technical expertise, they develop the project and then submit it to the government to evaluate,” she added.

She is expecting more unsolicited proposals to be submitted in the remaining months of the year.

Ms. Blanco-Latorre said prospective investors have not been deterred by the infrastructure corruption scandal, judging by the volume of proposals filed in the last six months.

“I believe that the private sector has so much faith and trust in the PPP framework here in the Philippines, especially that we now have the new PPP code and its implementing rules and regulations,” she added.

She said the corruption issues surrounding last year’s flood control projects have actually increased private sector interest in major government projects.

“Because (of the corruption concerns), the private sector now wants to be part of infrastructure projects,” she added.

As of April 8, the PPP Center said there were 251 projects in the pipeline valued at P3.3 trillion.

Of the total, 195 or 78.3% are solicited projects worth P1.96 trillion, while the remaining 54 projects are unsolicited projects worth P1.34 trillion.

Most of the projects are in property development (46 projects), maritime (45 projects), and information and communications technology (23 projects).

By value, the top categories are railways (P1.97 trillion), property development (P361.89 billion), and land transport (P274.06 billion).

Of the pending projects 223 are under development, and 18 have reached the approval stage.

Meanwhile, the remaining 10 projects are advancing through bidding or comparative challenge processes, depending on whether they are solicited or unsolicited.

The PPP Center said 167 projects worth P3.16 trillion will be implemented by the National Government, while 84 projects worth P136 billion will be overseen by local government units.

EVERY $20 rise in the price of crude, persisting for six months, is expected to raise Philippine inflation by 0.62 percentage point (ppt), the World Bank said.

It added that Thailand is even more sensitive, with inflation there rising 0.67 ppt for the same crude price movement.

Thailand and the Philippines were described as “among the more exposed economies given their reliance on imported oil,” the bank said in its East Asia & Pacific (EAP) Economic Update 2026.

Philippine inflation surged to a nearly two‑year high of 4.1% in March, breaching the 2-4% target band set by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, amid rising rice, fuel and electricity costs.

According to the World Bank, in the Philippines,“rising fuel costs are straining the transport sector and driving up logistics and commuting expenses for businesses and households alike.”

“Higher energy and fertilizer prices are likely to feed through to food costs and lower household purchasing power,” it added.

The Philippines is a net importer of oil and sources most of its needs from the Middle East, making it vulnerable to crude price swings.

According to the report, imported inflation via rising oil prices hurts poorer households more, making the effect regressive.

“Household expenditure data from the Philippines … demonstrate that lower-income quintiles allocate a disproportionately larger share of their total consumption to fuel and related transport costs, rendering them highly vulnerable to energy price shocks,” it said.

“Across the region, a sustained 50% increase in fuel prices could lead to a 3-4% loss in income for households in the region through both direct and indirect effects,” it added.

After the Iran war broke out in early March, the government declared a one-year state of national energy emergency to shield the economy from the impact of the crisis.

“The government’s declaration of an energy emergency underscores the severity of the situation. Growth is projected to remain below potential at 3.7%,” the World Bank said.

This projection represents a downgrade of the bank’s January estimate of 5.3%.

If realized, the downgraded projection will fall below the post-pandemic low of 4.4% in 2025 and end up missing the Philippines’ 5-6% GDP target range for 2026.

The 2026 projection for the Philippines was also below the average for the EAP.

“Growth in developing EAP is projected to moderate to 4.2% in 2026, as the conflict in the Middle East raises commodity prices, trade barriers and economic policy uncertainty remain elevated, and the boost from export front-loading ahead of higher tariffs fades,” the World Bank said.

Meanwhile, the World Bank raised its GDP growth projection for the Philippines to 5.6% in 2027 from 5.4% previously.

World Bank Vice-President for EAP Carlos Felipe Jaramillo said that the region’s growth still outperforms much of the world, even in uncertain times. 

“Yet, sustaining growth levels requires countries to confront structural challenges and seize the opportunity of the digital age to increase productivity and create more jobs,” he said.

The report said artificial intelligence could lead to higher productivity.

However, it said that regional adoption remains limited because of gaps in connectivity and skills. — Justine Irish D. Tabile