Adversaries versus Partners: Urban Water Supply in the Philippines

In the Philippines, skepticism about private sector participation in urban water provision became increasingly pronounced as missed service targets and regulatory battles plagued governmental relations with the two companies (Manila Water and Maynilad) granted concessions for water provision in the capital, Manila. A comparative study of these two public-private partnerships (PPPs) reveals the challenges of reconciling bureaucratic and organizational dynamics with public suspicion of the private sector. This study draws on interviews and observations with corporate and government officials, academics, journalists, non-governmental organizations, and civil society members in the Philippines, almost a decade after the initial privatization. This paper furthers our understanding of the outcomes in Manila—and PPPs more generally—by addressing the tension between credible commitment in contractual arrangements and flexibility for responding to economic and environmental shocks. It argues that adversarial interactions between the private corporations and regulators hindered the collaborative negotiations needed to respond to the currency crisis. Fear of public backlash against price increases and contract adjustments prevented the government and companies from engaging in meaningful joint problem-solving. The differential outcomes of the companies illustrate the relevance of specific contractual arrangements and leadership in determining the impact of unforeseen shocks. However, the problems experienced by both companies indicates the need—if the private sector is to equitably and efficiently provide public goods—to redesign PPPs to increase transparency and to develop true partnerships.

對手還是夥伴？菲律賓的城市自來水供應

在菲律賓，由於強差人意的服務水準及被監管紛爭所困擾的政府與獲許可在首都馬尼拉提供自來水供應的兩大公司（馬尼拉自來水公司和馬尼拉德）之間的關係，對私有部門參與城市自來水供應的懷疑態度愈演愈烈。對這兩個公共－私有合作夥伴（PPPs)的比較研究揭示了在公眾對私有部門的懷疑態度下調解官僚機構和公司組織之間關係的艱巨性。本項研究的材料來自於私有化開始約十年後對菲律賓企業和政府官員、學術界人士、新聞工作者、非政府組織和公民社會成員的訪談和觀察研究。

通過探討合同約定中的可靠承諾和應對經濟及環境打擊所需的靈活性之間的矛盾，本文將增進我們對於在馬尼拉的結果以及普遍意義上的PPPs的理解 。本文認為，私有企業與規範機構之間的對抗性關係阻礙了應對貨幣危機所需的合作性協商。而擔心公眾對提價和合同調整的強烈抵制則妨礙了 政府與公司緻力於有意義的合作問題解決。

兩個公司的不同結局展示了特定合同約定及領導力在左右未知打擊的影響上的重要性。但是，這兩個公司所遭遇的問題也表明，要使私有部門也同樣有效地提供公共產品，就必須重新設計PPPs以提高透明度併發展好真正的夥伴關係。