Philippines : Strengthening Transparency and Accountability in the Road Subsector

Sovereign Project | 41076-022

The TA will facilitate ADB's re-entry into the Philippines road subsector by addressing governance issues. The TA will play a key role in mitigating corruption risks for planned ADB-financed road subsector activities and in strengthening governance and capacity to achieve improved transparency and accountability in the road subsector. The impact of the TA will be that economic growth and investment increase as a result of increased efficiency in the road subsector. The outcome of the TA will be increased transparency and accountability of road subsector budgets and investments, including those covered under planned ADB-financed road subsector activities. The outcome of the TA will be achieved through three ouputs: mitigation of corruption risks for planned ADB-financed road subsector activities, strengthened internal accountability mechanisms, and strengthened external accountability mechanisms.

Project Details

  • Project Officer
    Miller, Jeffrey M.
    Southeast Asia Department
    Request for information
  • Country/Economy
    Philippines
  • Modality
  • Sector
    • Transport
Project Name Strengthening Transparency and Accountability in the Road Subsector
Project Number 41076-022
Country / Economy Philippines
Project Status Closed
Project Type / Modality of Assistance Technical Assistance
Source of Funding / Amount
TA 7434-PHI: Strengthening Transparency and Accountability in the Road Subsector
Technical Assistance Special Fund US$ 1.00 million
Strategic Agendas Inclusive economic growth
Drivers of Change Governance and capacity development
Sector / Subsector

Public sector management / Public administration

Transport / Road transport (non-urban)

Gender
Description

The TA will facilitate ADB's re-entry into the Philippines road subsector by addressing governance issues. The TA will play a key role in mitigating corruption risks for planned ADB-financed road subsector activities and in strengthening governance and capacity to achieve improved transparency and accountability in the road subsector. The impact of the TA will be that economic growth and investment increase as a result of increased efficiency in the road subsector. The outcome of the TA will be increased transparency and accountability of road subsector budgets and investments, including those covered under planned ADB-financed road subsector activities. The outcome of the TA will be achieved through three ouputs: mitigation of corruption risks for planned ADB-financed road subsector activities, strengthened internal accountability mechanisms, and strengthened external accountability mechanisms.

The TA will build on the ongoing activities of the government, CSOs, and other development partners to improve subsector governance by combating corruption and strengthening institutional capacity. The TA will deepen reforms in procurement, participatory auditing, and internal auditing; and will strengthen organizational and network capacities of the DPWH internal audit service, CSOs, and COA.

Project Rationale and Linkage to Country/Regional Strategy

Governance issues are prevalent in the transport sector due to the nature of the civil works, which are usually capital intensive and difficult to inspect and evaluate for reasonableness of costs, the size and structure of DPWH, which makes monitoring difficult; and the vulnerability of the subsector's resources to vested interests. The government, including DPWH, recognizes governance as a constraint to sustained economic growth and poverty reduction in general, and development of the country's of road infrastructure in particular. DPWH has taken a number of steps to assess and mitigate governance risks. The initiatives to address governance in the road subsector have strengthened financial controls and management and improved the efficiency of financial management processes and procurement. However, much remains to be done to improve governance in the subsector.

The TA supports the goals and objectives of the Philippines MTPDP 2004-2010. The TA is consitent with ADB's long-term strategic framework 2008-2020 (Strategy 2020) under which ADB will increase support for good governance and the building of development capacities.

Impact

Economic growth increase in the Philippines.

Project Outcome
Description of Outcome

Increased transparency and accountability of road subsector budgets and investments

Progress Toward Outcome
Implementation Progress
Description of Project Outputs

Mitigation of procurement risks for planned ADB financed road subsector activities

Strengthened DWPH internal accountability capacity

Strengthened DWPH external accountability capacity

Status of Implementation Progress (Outputs, Activities, and Issues) A minor change in scope was approved in April 2015 to support the Government's openness agenda to strengthen governance and transparency. The revised scope consists of four activities: (i) data governance, (ii) open roads platform, (iii) visualization training and knowledge sharing, and (iv) third-party engagement. Data governance encompasses development of (i) spatial data standards and protocols for sharing data throughout DPWH, and (ii) a system architecture to be used throughout the government for road projects and contracts (based on the protocols and mechanisms established by DPWH) for sharing in an open roads internet platform. The open roads platform involves (i) technical development of a geo-enabled mapping platform specific to the roads subsector that will consolidate information on all stages of the planning, contracting, and implementation of road projects and make it available to the public, and (ii) prototyping it in one or two pilot regions. Visualization training and knowledge sharing comprises development of a collaborative visualization and analytical course on converting DPWH data on projects and contracts to information readily accessible to DPWH management and the public. Third-party engagement involves designing and implementing a training program on online mapping and leading online mapping of municipalities.
Geographical Location
Summary of Environmental and Social Aspects
Environmental Aspects
Involuntary Resettlement
Indigenous Peoples
Stakeholder Communication, Participation, and Consultation
During Project Design
During Project Implementation
Business Opportunities
Consulting Services Consultants have been recruited.
Responsible ADB Officer Miller, Jeffrey M.
Responsible ADB Department Southeast Asia Department
Responsible ADB Division Transport and Communications Division, SERD
Executing Agencies
Dept. of Public Works & Highways
Timetable
Concept Clearance 17 Nov 2009
Fact Finding 09 Jul 2009 to 17 Jul 2009
MRM -
Approval 10 Dec 2009
Last Review Mission -
PDS Creation Date 14 Oct 2009
Last PDS Update 25 Sep 2015

TA 7434-PHI

Milestones
Approval Signing Date Effectivity Date Closing
Original Revised Actual
10 Dec 2009 15 Jan 2010 15 Jan 2010 31 Mar 2012 31 Dec 2015 31 May 2016
Financing Plan/TA Utilization Cumulative Disbursements
ADB Cofinancing Counterpart Total Date Amount
Gov Beneficiaries Project Sponsor Others
1,000,000.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 1,000,000.00 17 Jun 2022 467,836.41

Project Data Sheets (PDS) contain summary information on the project or program. Because the PDS is a work in progress, some information may not be included in its initial version but will be added as it becomes available. Information about proposed projects is tentative and indicative.

The Access to Information Policy (AIP) recognizes that transparency and accountability are essential to development effectiveness. It establishes the disclosure requirements for documents and information ADB produces or requires to be produced.

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Safeguard Documents See also: Safeguards
Safeguard documents provided at the time of project/facility approval may also be found in the list of linked documents provided with the Report and Recommendation of the President.

None currently available.


Evaluation Documents See also: Independent Evaluation

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Related Publications

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The Access to Information Policy (AIP) establishes the disclosure requirements for documents and information ADB produces or requires to be produced in its operations to facilitate stakeholder participation in ADB's decision-making. For more information, refer to the Safeguard Policy Statement, Operations Manual F1, and Operations Manual L3.

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Tenders

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Contracts Awarded

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Procurement Plan

None currently available.