Secretary Andanar: Government’s Build, Build, Build, program saved PH economy amid pandemic
MANILA - Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) Secretary Martin Andanar on Tuesday said that the implementation of various projects under the Duterte administration’s Build, Build, Build Program help save the country’s economy as the pandemic persists.
In an interview, Secretary Andanar mentioned some of the projects being implemented in provinces, to ensure that the bid for further development is spread across the country.
These
include infrastructure built and underway in Region 2 such as the upgraded
airport projects in Tuguegarao Airport, Palanan Airport, Basco Airport, and
Cauayan Airport; farm-to-market roads, and access roads.
“Itong
lahat pong ito ay bahagi po ng Duterte Legacy. Ang Build, Build, Build ni
Presidente ay isang pinakamahalgang cornerstone ng bansa. We are hovering
almost 5% infrastructure spending compared to an average of 2% nitong mga
nakaraang administrasyon [These are all part of the Duterte Legacy. The Build,
Build, Build of the President is one of the important cornerstones of our
country. We are hovering almost 5% infrastructure spending compared to an
average of 2% in the previous administrations],” he said.
“Kaya
nga tawag natin sa Digong administration ay Golden Age of Infrastructure dahil
malaki ang perang ibinubuhos natin. More than 6 million jobs created because of
this and actually naisasalba po ang ating ekonomiya ngayong panahon ng pandemya
dahil sa Build, Build, Build [That’s the reason why the Duterte Administration
is called the Golden Age of Infrastructure because we invested so much on this.
More than 6 million jobs created because of this. Actually the Build, Build,
Build helped save our economy during the pandemic],” he added.
The
country is now experiencing massive expansion in infrastructure unseen since
the time of former President Ferdinand Marcos, which helped transform its
economy and maintained the Philippines’ title as one of Asia’s rising tigers.
In
terms of road enhancement and development, Secretary Andanar said that the
Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) has reported the completion of
more than 29,000 road projects, including widening and rehabilitation.
At
least 671 infrastructure projects under the Department of Transportation are
already complete. These include the 451 building and rehabilitation projects
for the country’s seaports and 214 airport projects.
Secretary Andanar also cited that more than 150,000 classrooms were built and rehabilitated in the past five years of the administration. ###
