Mindanao key to PH's progress
If further developed, Mindanao continued if not an unprecedented growth for the country, said Department of Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade at the recently held BDO Economic Forum in Davao.
The forum, which carried the theme “Progressive Philippines”, was attended by nearly 600 Davao-based businessmen who bank with BDO.
Citing a World Bank study, Tugade said efforts to further grow the economy will be futile unless Mindanao is developed alongside the other regions. And progress, he added, cannot be achieved without first and foremost – infrastructure.
“Every nation, every country, every region that has experienced growth and development is always predicated on the kinds of plans it has on infrastructure. And therefore, we say, unequivocally, you want development, let's have infrastructure. And therefore, we say, you want development in infrastructure, you do it also with Mindanao,” he said during his keynote speech.
Under the Duterte administration's ambitious “Build, Build, Build” program, Tugade said the infrastructure masterplan for Mindanao include expansion and modernization of various airports, seaports, and maritime facilities, the development of the Mindanao Railway System, and the modernization of the region's public transportation system which will pilot test in Davao. All these are part of the P7-trillion budget the government has allocated for infrastructure spending until 2022.