Duterte’s infra gains to help heal pandemic wounds
THE Duterte administration is bent on building back a better, post-coronavirus economy through massive infrastructure investments geared toward making the country new normal-ready.
Palace spokesman Harry Roque Jr. renewed this commitment as he maintained that the resumption of infrastructure projects under the “Build, Build, Build” (BBB) program was the best way to revive the country’s economy that entered recession due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic.
“Kabahagi pa rin po at importante pa rin ang papel ng ‘Build, Build, Build’ para sa ating recovery mula dito sa Covid-19 (The role of ‘Build, Build, Build’ in our recovery remains important for our recovery from Covid-19),” Roque said in a statement.
The BBB program is anchored on President Rodrigo Duterte’s long-time conviction and advocacy for a more balanced and responsive regional/countryside development for the and aimed to usher the Philippines’
“golden age of infrastructure.”
Duterte said earlier in his presidency that the only solution to address the worsening congestion and traffic situation in Metro Manila and the skewed development favoring the National Capital Region and the traditional urban centers of the country is through the dispersion of economic activities.
This is the compelling reason why his administration is accelerating infrastructure development before his term ends amid the ongoing health crisis.
While Duterte has many critics, Roque said the President would be “remembered for the renaissance of infrastructure, for beating Covid-19 and, of course, for all the social legislation that he shepherded.”
He even told the President’s critics to “drop dead” as he bragged that the administration was “making history” for initiating the country’s first subway.
“The President has many critics and they will stop until they regain power. Let today’s event be recorded in the annals of Philippine history as another first of the Duterte administration. And to his critics, I have only this to say: Manigas kayong lahat (Drop dead),” Roque said in his speech during the program for the arrival of the Cutter Head of Kaunlaran, the first of the Tunnel Boring Machines (TBM) for the partial operability of the underground railway system.
Cabinet Secretary Karlo Alexei Nograles in a separate statement, said that the government’s infrastructure achievements in public works and in information technology will be felt beyond 2022 as part of Duterte’s commitment to improve Filipinos’ lives.
Nograles cited last year’s accomplishments of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) which, he said, would help achieve the primary objective of the 2017 to 2022 Philippine Development Plan for “a stable, prosperous and peaceful life for all.”
“We ended 2020 with substantial gains in our efforts to improve not just our highways but [also] our information superhighways,” Nograles said, citing the construction and rehabilitation of 9,845 kilometers of roads, 2,709 bridges, 4,536 flood mitigation structures and 120,895 classrooms.
“This improved road infrastructure will allow for the faster and more efficient movement of people and goods around different parts of the country, lowering the costs of transportation and, consequently, the costs of commodities in the market,” he added.
Nograles also noted the installation of 3,084 free Wi-Fi hotspots in public areas, connecting five million users in Metro Manila and 77 provinces.
“This is a key development, as studies show that improved access to the internet provides opportunities for economic growth,” Nograles said.
“In a country like the Philippines, where 99.5 percent of businesses are micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), “the internet can drastically reduce transaction costs and address the limitations of distance, allowing them to expand their markets,” he pointed out.
The Palace official also cited data in developing countries showing 11 percent more productivity in MSMEs that were wired, and said expanding internet access could improve their productivity by as much as 25 percent.
“We are already experiencing some of the effects of Duterte governance: reduced poverty, higher wages and low unemployment rates. But our job is not finished yet and we expect even more positive metrics as more and more of the government’s infra projects are completed,” Nograles said.
Meanwhile, DPWH Undersecretary Maria Catalina Cabral said multi-billion projects of the Duterte administration under the BBB program would help create jobs and provide inclusive growth to boost up the economy amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
The BBB program consists of around 20,000 infrastructure projects nationwide, involving roads, highways, farmto-market roads, airports, seaports, terminals, evacuation centers, lighthouses, hospitals, schools, government centers, and the like.
It is the centrepiece and one of the top-priority programs of the Duterte administration, which has been allocated a budget of around P8 trillion for a sixyear period (2017 to 2022). Such budget allocation on infrastructure is thus far the highest in Philippine history to date.
“Infrastructure development remains the best driver of economic growth. Now that we are starting to rebuild our communities, we lean on infrastructure buildup to jumpstart our economy,” Cabral said during an earlier virtual press briefing.
“With its multiplying effect in terms of employment and inclusive growth, the government is strengthening the ‘Build Build Build’ program to revitalize the economy from Covid-19
pandemic,” she added.
In particular, she cited the Department of Tourism (DoT)-DPWH Convergence program or the Tourism Road Infrastructure Program (TRIP) as among BBB projects that will help revitalize the local economy.
Cabral reported that a total of P120 billion was allocated from 2016 to 2021 for the construction, improvement, and upgrading of about 4.147 kilometers of roads leading to declared tourism destinations.
“As of September 2020, 2,168 kilometers of tourism roads were completed,” she added.
Cabral also said that the expansion projects of highways and expressways in some parts of the country would not only give way to regional economic development but also contribute to social growth.
“Due to reduced travel time, Filipinos will be able to visit their loved ones and friends more often. The government will build and lay the groundwork for the 1,049 kilometers of new high standard highest and expressway in Luzon, Cebu, and Davao with a total estimated investment cost of P776 billion,” she said.
Cabral said among these was the Luzon Spine Expressway Network Program, one of the gamechanging projects of the government. A total of 905 kilometers of high standard highways/ expressways are targeted to be implemented/ constructed in Luzon, which is about twice the 382 kilometers of existing expressways.
The P633 billion priority program of the government aims to reduce travel time between Ilocos and Bicol from 20 hours to just nine hours.
Cabral reported that the final section of
the Tarlac-Pangasinan-La Union Expressway (TPLEX), Phase 2 of the Arterial Road Bypass Project, NLEX Harbor Link Segment 10 and C3-R10 Section, NAIAX Phase 2 and the main trunk line of Metro Manila Skyway Stage 3 have been completed.
Also, a total of P1.6 billion has been allocated from 2016 to 2020 for the construction of 317 evacuation centers as part of the country’s resilience against disasters and effects of climate change.
“A total of 85 regional evacuation centers were also utilized as health/quarantine facilities capable of providing health monitoring due to Covid-19,” she said.
As of Feb. 24, the country has over 560,000 cases of the coronavirus. Over 520,000 have recovered, while more than 12,000 have died from the disease.
The Philipine government plans to vaccinate 50 to 70 million Filipino this year under its immunization program.
PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte’s independent foreign policy of “being an enemy to none and a friend to all” had allowed the Philippines to improve its relationship with the rest of the world – to the advantage of all Filipinos.
The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said the Philippine foreign policy is anchored on three pillars: preservation and enhancement of national security, protection of the rights and promotion of the welfare of overseas Filipino workers, and promotion and attainment of economic security.
Malacañang had maintained that Duterte’s independent foreign policy was anchored on a national security policy that puts balanced emphasis on the welfare and well-being of the Filipino people, at home and abroad.
Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. in Sept. 2019 said, “Our agency remains resolute in promoting an independent foreign policy and the Duterte government’s commitment to deliver the best frontline services of any other country – bar none, given the scale of our commitments – to all overseas Filipino workers.”
Locsin stressed this to members of the House of Representatives when he defended the proposed 2020 budget of the DFA. He noted that 2018 was a “watershed” year for the agency.
“We toughened our independent foreign policy from being ‘friend to all, enemy to none’ to ‘friend to friends, enemy to enemies and a worse enemy to false friends.’ It’s a tough world out there; and everyone’s out to get the better of us if we let them,” he said.
The DFA chief said that through diplomacy the Duterte government expanded and deepened relationships with historical allies, while pursuing new diplomatic engagements in the global arena. “The world is in constant flux; yesterday’s friends may be today’s enemies or at least today’s users.”
Locsin enumerated the DFA’s milestones from 2018 to 2019. He said the President improved relations with China. Bilateral visits and cooperative mechanisms helped create a more congenial environment for managing issues in the West Philippine Sea (WPS).
At the same time, the Duterte administration pursued the country’s advocacy in the WPS by upholding the Arbitral Award defining the Philippines’ rights in the South China Sea (SCS) or WPS.
The Philippines had pushed for the full and effective implementation of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea,
a document that sets forth the collective commitment of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) and China to promote peace, stability and mutual trust and to ensure the peaceful resolution of disputes in the SCS.
Under the Philippine Country Coordinatorship of the Asean-China Dialogue Relations for 2018 to 2021, Locsin said Asean and China adopted the Asean Strategic Partnership Vision 2030, which charted the future direction of Asean-China Dialogue Relations.
“As China coordinator, we successfully negotiated the first draft of a Code of Conduct in the South China Sea that will be acceptable to all concerned. Our view, however, is that the West is not interested in the CoC,” he added.
The DFA also fortified bilateral relations with traditional allies. In September 2018, Duterte undertook official visits to Israel and Jordan, during which agreements were signed on labor cooperation, investment and defense cooperation.
The momentum of high level exchanges between the Philippines and China continued with President Duterte hosting President Xi Jinping on November 20 to 21, 2018, wherein a total of 29 documents and agreements on oil and gas and the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) were signed, Locsin said.
The country’s top diplomat said that it was “a momentous occasion” when the United States (US) returned the three Balangiga Bells to the Philippines on December 11, 2018. “Thanks in great part to Nikki Haley, the US PR in the UN when I was there. And of course, thanks to the friends of the Philippines in the United States,” Locsin said.
“At the APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation) Summit, the President put our nation’s most aggressive public infrastructure investment program ‘Build Build Build’ front and center, leaving the world in no doubt about the Philippines’ confidence in its own future,” he noted.
Under Duterte’s leadership, the Philippines facilitated the adoption in December 2018 of the United Nations (UN) Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration (GCM) agreement that seeks to provide “decent treatment” to migrants worldwide.
UN Resident Coordinator Gustavo Gonzales
in December 2020 had acknowledged the Philippines as a “champion” of migrants’ welfare and safety amid the pandemic.
With Duterte’s independent foreign policy, the Philippines “can now shake hands” with China and Russia, which the previous administrations snubbed before, according to some political observers.
Manila can now get help from Beijing and Moscow without turning its backs from existing allies like Europe and the US. The Philippines is no longer tied up with the so-called Western style of foreign policy.
Duterte’s improved bilateral relations with China had paved the way for the “golden era” of bilateral ties between Manila and Beijing, according to former Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines Zhao Jianhua.
In 2019, Zhao had pointed out that under the guidance of Xi and Duterte, China-Philippine relations have achieved “an overall turnaround, enjoyed a sustained growth with strength and depth, and surged forward.”
Manila and Beijing have agreed to establish a “fast lane” for the entry of key Chinese personnel in the Philippines to ensure the timely completion of flagship projects under the Duterte administration’s BBB program.
There are 70 BBB projects financed in full or partly under BRI – road and bridges (21), flood control (3), airports (18), mass transit (6), seaports (3), railways (11), communications (1), new cities (7).
Russia as new reliable partner
In an exclusive interview with The Manila Times on Oct. 18, 2020, Igor Khovaev, who was then Russian Ambassador to the Philippines, said the level of defense cooperation between Manila and Moscow flourished under the Duterte administration.
“It became possible, thanks to your independent foreign policy by President [Rodrigo] Duterte, because your policy aimed at diversifying your external ties [and] it paved the way for our defense cooperation,” Khovaev said.
The ambassador said Russia “is ready to be a new reliable partner and good friend for the Philippines without inflicting any damage on your traditionally close ties with other countries.”
The senators also helped the government pursue improved ties with Russia as it adopted Senate Resolution (SR) 34 on Dec. 18, 2019, concurring in the ratification of the treaty between the Philippines and Russia on Extradition.
On that same day, the Senate approved SR 35 concurring in the ratification of the treaty between Philippines and Russia on mutual legal assistance in criminal matters.
The Senate minority bloc – composed of Senators Franklin Drilon, Francis Pangilinan, Ana Theresia Hontiveros and Leila de Lima – had acknowledged that the President is the chief architect of Philippine foreign policy.
“We are in agreement that the Philippines needs an independent foreign policy, one that protects and champions the interests of the Filipino people, one that is not pro-American and not pro-China but pro-Filipino, ensuring that the conventions and agreements we sign will benefit Filipino citizens,” they said in a joint statement.