Wednesday, June 15, 2022
Duterte upbeat on continuity of economic policies, infra projects
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.
TRB Inspects Soon to Open CAVITEX C5 Link Flyover Extension
Toll Regulatory Board (TRB) Executive Director Atty Alvin Carullo together with the TRB technical team, the grantor of the Manila-Cavite Toll Expressway Project (MCTEP), recently inspected the ongoing construction of the CAVITEX C5 Link Flyover extension (Segment 3A2: Merville to E. Rodriguez Ave.) of Cavitex Infrastructure Corporation (CIC) and its joint venture partner, Philippine Reclamation Authority (PRA).
Last week, the TRB’s inspection team together with CIC representatives checked on the progress of the 1.6km flyover extension that will soon connect to the operational 2.2km Cavitex C5 Link flyover, providing convenient access for motorists bound to SLEX/C5 from Merville and vice versa. As of today, the segment has reached more than 95% completion.
Also discussed during the inspection is the traffic management plan for the area once the extension opens. This entails transferring of the Merville entry and exit ramp to in front of Shell C5 Southlink for better traffic flow. Traffic signalization and signages will be installed in coordination with the local authorities to help manage traffic for motorists bound to the expressway, and those that will use the service road.
“We are pleased to see the progress of the CAVITEX C5 Link. We look forward to it serving an estimated 15,000 motorists, helping lessen their travel time from SLEX to Pasay, Taguig and Paranaque, thereby helping decongest some of our local roads” said TRB Executive Director Atty. Alvin A. Carullo.
Meanwhile, construction for its other segment, Segment 2 (CAVITEX R1 Expressway to Sucat Interchange) also continues in full swing, now reaching more than 30% completion. Once this segment connects CAVITEX to its Sucat Interchange, motorist travel time between the two areas will be reduced by as much as thirty minutes, bypassing traffic from Sucat Road and Quirino Avenue.
“With CAVITEX C5 Link flyover extension opening soon, we urge our motorists to have an Easytrip RFID installed and use it when traveling through our expressways, such as CAVITEX and CAVITEX C5 Link for seamless travel, and avoiding long queues at the cash lanes”, appealed CIC President and General Manager, Mr. Raul L. Ignacio.
To further encourage motorists to avail of its RFID services, free RFID installation and reloading services are made available at CAVITEX C5 Link Customer Service Center. Other installations and reloading sites outside of the expressways are also made available for motorists. The full list may be found here: https://www.easytrip.ph/subscription/rfid-onsite/.
Once the entire CAVITEX C5 Link project is completed in 2023, the 7.7km expressway will benefit more than 50,000 motorists. It will reduce travel time from CAVITEX to Makati, Taguig, and Pasay in under forty-five minutes while helping decongest EDSA, MIA Road., Roxas Boulevard and other major thoroughfares.
Cavitex Infrastructure Corporation, concessionaire of CAVITEX and CAVITEX C5 Link is a subsidiary of Metro Pacific Tollways Corporation (MPTC), the toll road development arm of Metro Pacific Investments Corporation (MPIC). Aside from CAVITEX and CAVITEX C5 Link, MPTC also holds concession rights for Cavite-Laguna Expressway (CALAX), North Luzon Expressway (NLEX), the Subic-Clark Tarlac Expressway (SCTEX), the NLEX Connector Road, and the Cebu-Cordova Link Expressway (CCLEX) in Cebu.