PBBM scores high in infra 

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OF 24 issues asked of Filipino respondents in the latest OCTA Research survey (December 2022), infrastructure development was on top of the list of items that satisfied the public, if not made them happy.

In Building Public Infrastructure, government obtained its highest satisfaction rating (81% satisfied, 3% dissatisfied), followed by effective response to natural disasters (77% satisfied, 6% dissatisfied) and protecting the welfare of overseas Filipino workers (77% satisfied, 6% dissatisfied).

The Department of Budget and Management said national government expenditures  for infrastructure and other capital outlays grew to P1.02 trillion from January to November 2023. This is an 18.5% or P159.8-billion increase to the P861.8 billion recorded in the same period in 2022.

‘We note that the big-ticket projects such as light rail, subways, airports, ports, expressways … are long-gestation projects.’

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The increase in infrastructure and other capital outlays was largely attributed to disbursements made by the Department of Public Works and Highways to cover the implementation of various priority projects; and capital outlays, such as construction, rehabilitation, renovation, repair, and improvement of roads and bridges, as well as flood control structures. No doubt, the public cannot help but notice the economic development and connectivity of ambitious projects, both completed and ongoing, such as the North-South Connector, the Skyway Stage 3, the Harbor Link, the Tarlac-Nueva Ecija expressway, the CALAX, SCTEX, and TPLEX, the Davao-Samal island bridge, the fourth Cebu toll bridge connecting the city with Cordova, the Panguil Bay bridge and these three long bridges — Panay-Negros-Guimaras, Cavite-Bataan, and Alabat-Calauag, Quezon.

The implementation of various rail transport foreign-assisted projects also contributed significantly to the growth of infrastructure spending.

Budget Secretary Mina Pangandaman said, “Government spending is vital to national growth. Thus, to help buttress robust economic growth, government agencies must continue to execute their programs and projects as authorized in the annual budget and deliver planned results in a timely manner.”

Pangandaman noted that to continue the infrastructure development through the “Build Better More” program, total infrastructure outlays have been allocated P1.510 trillion under the 2024 national budget, P180 billion higher than the P1.33 trillion allotted for the program in 2023. This infrastructure allocation is equivalent to 5.5% of the country’s projected GDP for this year, well within the government’s 5 to 6% target. This includes the Public Sector Infrastructure budget of the Department of Transportation (P26.58 billion) and DPWH (P981.999 billion).

The Build Better More program aims to expand the country’s infrastructure by developing road, rail, mass transport, and flood control projects to allow for growth in far-flung municipalities.

We note that the big-ticket projects such as light rail, subways, airports, ports, expressways or toll roads and kilometer-long bridges that connect entire islands are long-gestation projects. It takes years to complete even the extension of LRT 1 from Baclaran to Cavite, a project that started as an idea during the term of former President Joseph Estrada (1998-2000). We recall that MRT 7, the light rail line connecting EDSA and Metro Manila further north to Fairview and Bulacan, was an unsolicited project presented to former President Corazon Aquino in the late 1980s.

Since it takes a couple of years under several presidents to finish important infrastructure, whether constructed by the government using its own funds or through the private sector under the Public Private Partnership, it is not correct to attribute this accomplishment only to the current leader, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. His predecessor ex-President Rodrigo Duterte and his “Build, Build, Build” program should also be cited.

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