The country’s top economic managers gathered again in the second leg of Dutertenomics forum to present the President’s socioeconomic agenda that aims “to widen the gains of economic development, to address inequality, and to uplift the quality of life of all Filipinos.”
“With the right policies, further improvements in productivity, and greater participation in reforms, we can be upper middle income country in 2022, with growth that is holistic and inclusive,” said NEDA Undersecretary Adora M. Navarro during her presentation of overview of Philippine economy and infrastructure development strategy in the Philippine Development Plan (PDP) 2017-2022.
The forum focused on the Build Build Build—the administration’s comprehensive infrastructure development program—that includes high impact projects across the different regions of the country. It aims to increase the productive capacity of the economy, create jobs, increase incomes and strengthen the investment climate leading to sustained inclusive growth.
“Looking across regions, we can see that the country’s gross domestic product or GDP in recent years remains concentrated in the Mega Manila regions, which collectively accounted for about 62 percent of total GDP for the period 2010-2015 and we’re going to change that through more connectivity-enhancing infrastructure by connecting other regions to the growth centers,” said Navarro.
Navarro noted that the country’s Three-Year Infrastructure Program (TRIP) for years 2018-2020 amounting to PHP3,608.04billion will finance projects in transportation, water resources, social infrastructure, energy, ICT, and others.
The projects highlighted during the forum include the Mega Manila Subway from Quezon City to Taguig, Metro Cebu Expressway, PNR North Railway from Manila to Clark, PNR South Railway from Manila to Bicol, and international airports of Bicol, Clark, and Mactan Cebu.
The list of the projects can be accessed and monitored real-time through the Build Build Build portal www.build.gov.ph.
The forum, spearheaded by the Presidential Communications Operations Office, Department of Finance, and the Center for Strategy, Enterprise & Intelligence, was held last April 25 at the ASEAN International Media Center, Taft Ballroom of the Conrad Hotel in Pasay City.
Ramon Nino T. Raquid, DIS-PRD, loc. 103
Photos by Leody P. Barcelon