Ilonggo Senator Franklin Drilon on Tuesday, Nov. 12, expressed dismay over the slow implementation of projects under the Duterte administration’s “Build, Build, Build” program.
“It is sad to say that the Build, Build, Build program of the administration is a dismal failure,” Drilon said during the Senate plenary deliberation on the proposed P4.1 trillion national budget for 2020.
“We only have two years and a half left in this administration, I don’t think any substantial progress insofar as that program is concerned will be achieved. I repeat, the execution is simply dismal,” he added.
Only nine out of 75 flagship infrastructure projects have commenced three years into the term of President Rodrigo Duterte, data from the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) showed.
“That is only 2% of the total,” Drilon stressed.
According to the senator, the DPWH and Department of Transportation (DoTr) have been slow to disburse project funds.
“The problem of underspending, the problem of the bureaucracy not being able to respond, the problem of ill-advised projects, these are all problems that must be threshed out and I don’t know whether there is still time,” Drilon said.
Senator Sonny Angara, chair of the Senate finance committee, 12 projects are expected to be completed by 2020, 17 projects by 2021, and another 26 projects by 2022.
The “Build, Build, Build” program was launched by Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) in 2017. It is aimed at ushering in the “golden age of infrastructure” in the country.
Among the projects under the program is the Panay-Guimaras-Negros Link Bridge.
Last month, DPWH Secretary Mark Villar said the multibillion-peso project would be financed by an official development assistance (ODA) loan from China.
“Tapos na ‘yung FS (feasibility study). Very soon it will be with NEDA (National Economic and Development Authority. So it’s now in the advance stages of planning, so malapit na,” he said.
Malacañang dismissed Drilon’s claim as “baseless.”
“Senator Frank, look at the administration you previously belonged. Six years, not a single infrastructure na nagawa. Malayong-malayo sa dami,” said Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo in a press briefing.
“Mabagal kasi siguro maingat. For instance, kung meron kang isang project na hindi mo maumpisahan kasi meron kang right-of-way issues bakit ka re-release ng funds? The fact remains that there are a lot of projects,” he added.
Villar also denied Drilon’s claim.
“I think they’re using the old list that we first used prior to all the technical studies. Now the new list, with all the studies we’ve done, many of these projects, some have been finished. Some are in advanced stage of construction. But if you look at the majority, most of them are already under construction so make no mistake, in any metric that you use, the build build build is not a failure,” he said in a report by CNN Philippines.IMT
