A Case Study on Build! Build! Build!
Project: The Golden Age
Of Infrastructure by Former President Rodrigo Duterte
Sophia Cassandra Garcia, Lyceum of the Philippines University – Cavite
The Philippines' government plans to invest US$164.7 billion or approximately 8 trillion
pesos in infrastructure as part of former President Duterte's "Build, Build, Build" initiative. In
order to achieve these ambitious goals, the government asked the Asia Development Bank
(ADB) to support the Department of Transportation (DOTr) and the Department of Public Works
and Highways (DPWH) in their pre-investment activities. This will enable the government to
speed up the approval and review process and shorten the time it takes for priority infrastructure
projects to be brought up and running.
The government works with the DPWH to prepare feasibility studies, masterplans, and
implementation strategies for new inter-island bridges, tunnels, and highways under the first plan
of attention. The first objective was an overview project to rank the several highway and inter-
island connections according to importance and determine which ones were better to investigate
further. Eight projects involving large-scale bridge, viaduct, and highway crossing pre-feasibility,
feasibility, and reference designs emerged from this. Along with developing a thorough master
plan for the enhancement and integration of the current and future road network surrounding
Laguna Bay, they also conducted strategic studies for the Central Visayas to boost transportation.
Secondly, upon helping the DOTr with a strategic transport planning review that includes
projects related to rail, aviation, sustainable transportation, and maritime transportation.
Although as the late president’s term was ended, Early in the presidential campaign, the
government's ambitious infrastructure initiative, "Build, Build, Build," was to be expanded,
according to then-candidate Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr.
As of right now, 1,090.30 kilometers of railroad, 102 airport projects, and 117 seaport
projects have all been finished. Not to mention the 1,020 bridges that are presently being built.
The completion of these projects and the continuation of "Build, Build, Build," should definitely
be the next administration's top priorities. At this time, one fact is certain: the BBB project will
keep changing the nation's landscape. It ought to be given top priority and kept going by the new
government.
References:
Continuing buildbuildbuild: What’s next? Flying Ketchup. (2022, April 6).
https://flyingketchup.ph/continuing-buildbuildbuild-whats-next/
Patinio, F. (2022, July 24). “build, build, build” continues: Building more for better lives.
Philippine News Agency. https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1179572
