To guide the accomplishment of transport objectives and goals and to improve governance in the sector, a comprehensive long-term NTP must be put in place. This will guide the restructuring of the transport sector into a well-coordinated and integrated multimodal transport system. The NTP should clearly establish the government's policies in the areas of resource generation and allocation; the criteria for the preparation of agency plans, programs and projects; cost recovery and subsidies; regulations for passenger transport services; urban transport and settlements; transport logistics; and governance. In the interim, the NTP shall be operationalized through an executive order, and in the medium-term, through a legislative enactment. The NTP would eliminate uncertainty and lend predictability and consistency to government decisions, thereby promoting accountability.
With regard to PPP project implementation, policies related to risk allocation (e.g., allocation of regulatory risk), delivery of ROW, and government financial support for viability gap funding of transport projects will be established. Additionally, the NTP will institutionalize CCA and DRR strategies in recognition of the major impacts of environmental, geologic, and meteorological hazards on the development and preservation of transport infrastructure. It will also promote a people-oriented transport system that mainstreams gender considerations.
The roles of the private sector vis-à-vis those of government agencies and other authorities as well as LGUs in the development, operation and management of various transport infrastructures will be defined in conjunction with the crafting of a NTP. For rail transport, for example, the government can be the primary developer of the railway infrastructure, while the private sector can be responsible for the operations and maintenance of the facility including the provision of rolling stock.
Likewise, the NTP shall consider the definition of the roles of national government entities and LGUs in transport infrastructure development and management (e.g., cost sharing policy/subsidy), notwithstanding the Local Government Code of 1991, including scope of duties and responsibilities, as well as the linking of national and local plans, and budget allocation.
The government will also address the inadequate linkage between the planning and budgeting processes to ensure that resources are allocated to their most important uses for transport infrastructure and management.