Aerial drone view of Tarlac-Pangasinan-La Union Expressway segment between Sison, Pangasinan and Rosario, La Union, northward past the Bued River bridge — COMMONS.WIKIMEDIA.ORG

Hopeful for the next administration’s support on President Rodrigo R. Duterte’s “Build, Build, Build” (BBB) program, government officials are optimistic about the implementation of most of the proposed infrastructure projects under BBB as they also emphasized its long-term economic impact.

With roughly three months towards the end of President Duterte’s administration, 18 out of 112 infrastructure flagship projects under BBB will be completed by June this year, with 12 additional projects to conclude by the end of 2022 while 89 more are scheduled for implementation by 2023 and to be accomplished in the next six years.

“Most of these projects have been properly reviewed by the NEDA-ICC (National Economic and Development Authority-Investment Coordination Committee) Board… The national return is huge. There’s no way the next administration will shelve most of these projects but instead may look at it and revisit,” Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Undersecretary Emil K. Sadain said in a virtual briefing last Feb. 8.

Upon his assumption of office in 2016, President Duterte changed the tempo of infrastructure spending by doubling the budget from the previous administration. Supporting his advocacy for a more balanced countryside development, he focused on solving the congestion in the metropolis by dispersing economic activities throughout the region.

In his 10-point socioeconomic agenda, among the reforms that will drive the reduction of poverty is the acceleration of infrastructure and the development of industries that will yield robust growth across the archipelago, as well as create jobs and uplift the lives of Filipinos. Based on DPWH data, from 2016-2020, BBB generated 6.5 million jobs with 1.6 million workers hired from March 2020 to the end quarter of 2021.

The program has also encountered some setbacks in the realignment of a part of its budget to finance the government’s response to the health and socioeconomic crises brought by the COVID-19 pandemic, funding facilities for community quarantine, isolation, off-site dormitories and modular hospitals.

Nevertheless, a number of flagship infrastructure projects were completed amid lockdowns. These include the Angat Water Transmission Improvement; Tarlac-Pangasinan-La Union Expressway Rosario & Pozorrubio Exits; Sorsogon City Coastal Road; New Clark City [Phase 1A]; Harbor Link; Sangley Airport; Broadband project with Facebook [Luzon Bypass Infrastructure]; Bohol-Panglao International Airport; Cagayan de Oro Port; New world-class passenger terminal in Mactan-Cebu International Airport; Lal-lo International Airport; Puerto Princesa International Airport; and other infrastructure developments for domestic airports, classrooms, and flood mitigation structures.

As it is among the first major economic activities to resume post-quarantine operation in the country, the construction of six railway projects is also underway. Additional railway, bridge and seaport projects are also in the pipeline.

Department of Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III said that the infrastructure modernization through President Duterte’s BBB program will remain as one of the cornerstones of the country’s recovery plan. — Allyana A. Almonte

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