CLARK FREEPORT – Thirty eight of the 100 flagship infrastructure projects of the administration will be completed by the end of President Duterte’s term in 2022.
So confidently declared Vince Dizon, president-CEO of the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) and concurrent presidential adviser on flagship projects.
“This is our estimation, give or take, this is what we believe we can achieve,” Dizon said in a weekly Palace economic briefing.
Dizon also said 22 out of 100 key infrastructure projects are “partially operational or substantially completed,” while the remaining 40 percent would be completed “beyond 2020.”
It was learned that of the 100 big-ticket infrastructure projects, 35 are underway, 32 will commence construction in the next six to eight months, 21 are in the advanced stages of government approval, and the remaining 12 are in advanced stages of feasibility study.
Dizon said roughly P4.3 trillion or half of the P9 trillion that will be earmarked for the infrastructure program will be spent for the implementation of the flagship projects.
Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon claimed last Tuesday that the Duterte administration’s ambitious “Build, Build, Build” program is a “dismal failure.”
But Dizon debunked the senator’s claim, emphasizing the current administration has so far completed several infrastructure projects.
Among the completed projects are North Luzon Expressway Harbor Link Segment 10, Davao del Norte’s Governor Miranda Bridge, Laguna Lake Highway, Isabela’s Pigalo Bridge, Tarlac– Pangasinan–La Union Expressway-Pozorrubio, Bohol-Panglao International Airport, Cagayan de Oro Passenger Terminal, Communications Navigations System/ Air Traffic Management, and the New Clark City Phase 1A, Dizon said.
“There is a lot of activity in construction, and in particular, a lot of activity in public sector construction, meaning, in government construction or government projects,” he added.
“So, I just want to emphasize the point: Is ‘Build, Build, Build’ a failure? Absolutely not. And the numbers speak for themselves. Construction is up. Public spending on infrastructure is up. And this has led to a faster economic growth,” Dizon pointed out. “Numbers don’t lie.”
Dismal
Contrary to Drilon’s allegation that only nine of the “Build, Build, Build” projects have started construction, Dizon said it was the previous Aquino government which showed “dismal” performance in boosting the infrastructure sector.
Dizon noted that from 2016 to 2018, the Duterte administration has already spent nearly P1 trillion, compared to P380 billion spent by its predecessor.
“The state of infrastructure when the President took over was dismal. I mean, we easily forget,” he said.
“When the President launched ‘Build, Build, Build,’ through the economic team way back in late 2016, the plan to spend more on infrastructure has been happening,” Dizon added.
Despite its accomplishments in improving the infrastructure sector in the country, the government is not yet satisfied with its performance, as it is convinced it can do more, Dizon remarked.
He said President Duterte has already directed his economic team to “revisit” the roster of initial flagship projects, in an effort to hasten the implementation of the “Build, Build, Build” program.
“What we wanted to do was look at the list, revisit it. Why? Because it’s the halfway term of the President and we want to be able to do more and we want to be able to fast-track and even speed up the infrastructure program in the second half of the term of the President,” he explained.
To clarify issues hounding the key infrastructure projects being pushed by the current administration, Dizon clarified that there was no promise to finish the completion of all the 100 key infrastructure projects under Duterte’s watch.
Dizon said it was “impossible” to finish all the infrastructure projects within six years.
“We wanted to rationalize because you know, infrastructure projects are not easy to do. They require a lot of planning. They require long and very tedious feasibility studies, detailed planning. And it takes time,” he said.
Meanwhile, House committee on ways and means chair, Albay Rep. Joey Salceda, said a proposal for special powers that will be granted for three years to expedite the projects under Build, Build, Build is now being considered.
House Bill 5456, or the Flagship Emergency Act of 2019, seeks to give the President powers to facilitate the procurement of right-of-way (ROW) acquisition that slows down the implementation of government projects.
