Davao City (30 October) -- The interagency National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Investment Coordination Committee-Cabinet Committee (ICC-CC) approved recently the Philippines-Australia Human Resource and Organizational Development Facility (PAHRODF) and the Laguna de Bay Rehabilitation Project.

PAHRODF, a facility proposed for Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID) grant which provides funding long-term and short-term training for personnel of targeted organizations such as national government agencies, local government units, educational institutions and private sector entities through chambers of commerce and industry, is estimated to cost about PhP2.8 billion.

This amount is allocated to fund about 350 Masters Degrees or diploma certificates, 50 PhDs, twinning arrangement between Australian and local institutions, research, knowledge synthesis, management and diffusion such as research grants and organizational capacity-building activities.

The Facility aims to enhance the effectiveness of selected programs and reform agenda under the Australia-Philippines Development Assistance Strategy (DAS). Among the specific development objectives of this facility include developing or strengthening human resource development (HRD), human resource management (HRM), planning, management, administration competencies and organizational capacities of targeted individuals, organizations and groups of organizations and support systems for service delivery. It will be implemented from July 2010 to June 2015.

Moreover following deliberation on the Tax Enhancement Program for Cigarettes Unsolicited BOT Proposal, the interagency ICC-CC advised the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) to pursue negotiations with the unsolicited original proponent SICPA Product Security S.A. for the said project, in accordance with Republic Act 7718 (the BOT Law) and its Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR version of April 2006).

The BIR is then expected to notify the ICC of the result of its negotiation with the unsolicited proponent of the proposal, towards undertaking the Swiss challenge. A Swiss challenge is a form of public procurement which requires a government agency ? who has received an unsolicited bid for a project to be provided to government ? to publish the bid and invite other prospective private proponents in the market to match or exceed it.

This Proposal aims to enhance excise tax collection for all locally manufactured cigarettes sold in the domestic market and to reduce illicit trade in the country using an integrated technology solution.