By Ruth Abbey Gita-Carlos
President Rodrigo Duterte is optimistic that President-elect Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. will continue the economic policies and infrastructure projects initiated by his administration, a Palace official said Tuesday night.
"Just a few months ago or a month ago, he (Duterte) did come out with our economic agenda that hopefully, the incoming administration would continue," Deputy presidential spokesperson and Communications Undersecretary Michel Kristian Ablan said in an interview with CNN Philippines' Politics As Usual.
Ablan was referring to the 10-point policy agenda approved by Duterte in March this year to fast-track economic recovery and drive broad-based expansions across various sectors amid the prevailing coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic.
Duterte on March 21 issued Executive Order (EO) 166, ordering the adoption of the 10-point policy agenda to sustain current economic gains, minimize the pandemic’s long-term adverse effects, and restore the country’s development trajectory.
EO 166 directs the government offices to strengthen health care capacity; accelerate and expand the vaccination program; further reopen the economy and expand public transport capacity, and resume face-to-face learning.
It also orders the national government to reduce restrictions and standardize local government units’ requirements on domestic travel, as well as relax requirements for international travel.
The EO likewise mandates the state departments and offices to accelerate digital transformation through legislative measures and provide for enhanced and flexible emergency measures through legislation.
Under the EO, the national government is also told to shift the focus of decision-making and government reporting to more useful and empowering metrics, as well as undertake medium-term preparation for pandemic resilience.
The 10-point policy agenda for the country's economic recovery was adopted by the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases on April 12.
Ablan said the Duterte administration is also expecting Marcos to continue the infrastructure projects under the "Build, Build, Build" (BBB) program.
"His infrastructure program na (dubbed as) "Build, Build, Build," hopefully it will be continued by the Marcos administration since many of them are still ongoing and some are about to begin," Ablan said.
On Sunday, Duterte urged the incoming Marcos administration to continue pursuing big-ticket infrastructure projects, saying these are vital in sustaining economic progress and recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) earlier said flagship infrastructure projects under the BBB program will be the key drivers of the country's economic recovery.
The current administration is expected to complete at least 19 key infrastructure projects by the end of Duterte's term on June 30.
Another 12 ongoing infrastructure projects are expected to be finished by the end of December and the other 35 projects are set to be completed by 2023, the DPWH said.
Civil works for 10 infrastructure projects under the detailed engineering design stage will begin from 2023 onwards.
Processing of financing for nine projects is underway, while nine other projects with ongoing procurement for detailed engineering design or civil works will be implemented by 2023.
Twenty projects are undergoing review or evaluation of the National Economic and Development Authority-Investment Coordination Committee and five others are under project preparation.
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