The government’s Build, Build, Build program is expected to go on full gear this year, with around 60 projects already under the construction and in the pre-construction phases, said Gil Beltran, undersecretary of the Department of Finance (DOF).
This developed as DOF is eyeing to submit to Congress the second package of the comprehensive tax reform program (CTRP) as session resumes today.
According to data provided by Beltran, 44 major infrastructure projects are under construction as of January 10, while 15 are in the pre-construction phase.
“The BBB policy will go on a high gear. There are already 60 projects, big ones, the project cost of those is P1.8 trillion mostly funded by (Official Development Assistance). The projects are already under construction or under pre-construction, they are putting the finer details,” Beltran said.
Carlos Dominguez III, finance secretary, said the roll-out of big-ticket infrastructure projects are proceeding as planned following the signing into law by President Duterte and the subsequent implementation of the Tax Reform Acceleration and Inclusion Act (TRAIN), which slashes personal income tax rates while raising additional revenues for infrastructure and social services.
About 70 percent of the incremental revenues from the TRAIN have been earmarked for infrastructure, and up to 30 percent for social services.
“It’s coming together. Believe it or not, even I am surprised. The money is coming in from our tax, the loans are coming in, the implementing agencies are getting their act together, its coming together,”Dominguez said.
Included in the projects listed under construction are, among others, the Metro Manila Skyway 3, Mactan-Cebu International Airport Project, CALAX Expressway, MRT7, and the PNR South Long Haul.
Meanwhile, those under the pre-construction phase include the Mega Manila Subway, Metro Manila Bus Rapid Transit, Malolos-Clark Rail, Metro Manila Flood Control, and the North-South Commuter Rail, among others.
The government earlier said that it is planning to spend some P8.4 trillion on its infrastructure program, dubbed as the Build, Build, Build agenda, over the medium term, or about $168billion in the next five years.
Based on earlier estimates done by the National Economic and Development Authority, the Build, Build, Build program is expected to generate 823,696 jobs this year; 1,115,999 jobs in 2019; 1,228,964 jobs in 2020; 1,399,463 jobs in 2021; and 1,705,021 jobs in 2022.
Following the enactment of the TRAIN, which slashes personal income tax rates while raising additional revenues for infrastructure and social services, the DOF is preparing to introduce to Congress the second package of the CTRP, which focuses on reducing corporate income tax (CIT) rates while rationalizing fiscal incentives.
“We should be ready by the 15th, because that’s when they (Congress) will open. We are just putting the final touches on it,” Carlos Dominguez III, finance secretary, said.
“We write to the speaker, we officially transmit to the speaker of the house. Usually, the committee will review it first and then endorse it to the chair. The chair will file it, (it will have a) house number, and then it will be read again in the plenary and referred to the committee. There’s a process,” said Karl Kendrick Chua, finance undersecretary.
Under package two, the DOF aims to lower the CIT rate to 25 percent, while rationalizing incentives for companies to make these “performance-based, targeted, time-bound, and transparent,” Chua said.
Through this proposal, the DOF said the government would be able to ensure that incentives granted to businesses generate jobs, stimulate the economy in the countryside and promote research and development; contain sunset provisions so that tax perks do not last forever; and are reported so the government can determine the magnitude of their costs and benefits to the economy.
