We need equal development to attain inclusive growth

The Duterte administration has recently unveiled a massive infrastructure spending worth at least P3.6 trillion under a program that would run for three years. For the government, this huge undertaking will be part of the drive to push for an era of the golden age of the country's infrastructure.

Part of what it called a three-year rolling infrastructure program will be the construction of a mega subway worth P227 billion to be funded under the General Appropriations Act, an airport runway, and elevated highways, all in Metro Manila. Some of the other bigtime projects are the railway constructions in Luzon and southern Mindanao.

Of course, this is a welcome development because these projects, once finished and operational, will raise the bar of investor confidence in the country. So far, the Philippines has the lowest yearly foreign investments among the major economies is Southeast Asia with the bulk going to Vietnam, Thailand, and Indonesia.

However, a look at those proposed projects would only show that the program will only benefit the capital and some areas in Luzon. Except for southern Mindanao, the Visayas and other areas were not included on the list of beneficiaries.

This is not to say the program has been unfair to other areas in the country that direly need infrastructure projects to spur their local economies. But it would have been a good idea if a good portion of the appropriations was set aside for countryside development.

It is undeniable that the countryside needs more airports, modern highways, integrated mass transit systems, among others, to draw investments and trigger tourism development. And extending the ambitious program to other areas in the Visayas and Mindanao would be a great boost to their local economies.

Though we understand why the government is prioritizing Metro Manila in project implementations, it should have also aggressively pushed for more development programs in other areas so the countryside would not be left behind.

A developed countryside means people would no longer need to risk their lives seeking greener pastures in Metro Manila or Metro Cebu. Therefore, the government needs to ramp up countryside development if we want to achieve a truly inclusive economic growth.