MANILA – According to the Malacañang, President Rodrigo Duterte is optimistic that President-elect Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. will continue the economic policies and infrastructure projects started by his administration.
“Just a few months ago or a month ago, he (Duterte) did come out with our economic agenda that hopefully, the incoming administration would continue,” Deputy presidential spokesperson and Communications Undersecretary Michel Kristian Ablan said in an interview with CNN Philippines’ Politics As Usual.
Amid the ongoing coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic, Ablan was referring to the 10-point policy agenda approved by Duterte in March this year to fast-track economic recovery and drive broad-based expansions across various sectors.
On March 21, Duterte released Executive Order (EO) 166, directing the enactment of the 10-point policy agenda to sustain current economic gains, minimize the pandemic’s long-term adverse effects, and restore the country’s development trajectory.
EO 166 orders the government offices to strengthen health care capacity; accelerate and expand the vaccination program; further reopen the economy and expand public transport capacity, and resume face-to-face learning.
It also directs the national government to reduce restrictions and standardize local government units’ requirements on domestic travel, as well as relax requirements for international travel.
Under the EO, the state departments and offices to accelerate digital transformation through legislative measures and provide for enhanced and flexible emergency measures through legislation.
The EO also mandates the national government to shift the focus of decision-making and government reporting to more useful and empowering metrics, as well as undertake medium-term preparation for pandemic resilience.
On April 12, the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases adopted the 10-point policy agenda for the country’s economic recovery.
The Duterte administration is also anticipating Marcos to continue the infrastructure projects under the “Build, Build, Build” (BBB) program, according to Ablan.
“His infrastructure program na (dubbed as) “Build, Build, Build,” hopefully it will be continued by the Marcos administration since many of them are still ongoing and some are about to begin,” Ablan said.
Duterte on Sunday urged the incoming Marcos administration to continue pursuing big-ticket infrastructure projects, noting that these are important in sustaining economic progress and recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic.
Earlier, the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) stated that flagship infrastructure projects under the BBB program will be the key drivers of the country’s economic recovery.
By the end of Duterte’s term on June 30, the current administration is projected to have completed at least 19 key infrastructure projects.
The DPWH stated that another 12 ongoing infrastructure projects are expected to be completed by the end of December and the other 35 projects are set to be finished by 2023.
Civil works for 10 infrastructure projects under the detailed engineering design stage will begin from 2023 onwards.
Processing of financing for nine projects is underway, while nine other projects with ongoing procurement for detailed engineering design or civil works will be implemented by 2023.
The National Economic and Development Authority-Investment Coordination Committee is reviewing or evaluating twenty projects, and five others are under project preparation.
