‘Build Better More’ sets 194 projects worth P9 trillion

By: Nestor Corrales - Reporter / @NCorralesINQ

The National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) Board, which is chaired by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., approved on
Thursday 194 high-impact priority projects worth P9 trillion, among them the rehabilitation of the decades-old Ninoy Aquino International
Airport (Naia), as part of the government’s “Build Better More” program.

At a Palace briefing, Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan said 123 of the 194 infrastructure flagship projects (IFPs) were
new, which means that only 71 were carried over from the previous administrations, including the ongoing Metro Manila Subway project
under former President Rodrigo Duterte and the North-South Commuter Railway venture under then President Benigno S. Aquino III.

The Naia rehabilitation was classified as a new project because it did not push through when it was proposed during the Duterte
administration.

New projects

Balisacan said some of the new projects on the list are the Panay Railway Project, the third phase of the Mindanao Railway Project, the
University of the Philippines-Philippine General Hospital (UP-PGH) Diliman Hospital, the North Long Haul component of the North-
South Railway, the Ilocos Sur Transbasin Irrigation project, the San Mateo Railway and the Metro Cebu Expressway.

The Metro Cebu Expressway is a 74-kilometer expressway that, once completed, will connect the Cebu North Road in Danao to the Naga-
Uling Road in Naga and serve as an alternative north-south backbone highway for the province.

The UP-PGH Diliman project is envisioned to be a 400-bed public hospital, with potential for further expansion through an adjoining in-
patient building, to be located in the Arboretum site within the campus of UP Diliman in Quezon City and provide multispecialty services.
The new hospital, estimated to cost P21.3 billion to build, will provide much-needed additional hospital bed capacity for patients in Metro
Manila and the nearby provinces of Bulacan and Rizal.

The 17-kilometer San Mateo railway, meanwhile, will have six stations and run through Marikina City, San Mateo and Rodriguez, Rizal. It
will be connected to the LRT 2 via a feeder railway line.

The North Long-Haul venture is a railway system in northern Luzon covering around 800 kilometers and will connect the National Capital
Region (NCR) and Regions 1, 2 and 3.Speed up rollout

The Ilocos Sur Transbasin and the Upper Banaoang Irrigation projects were proposed during the Aquino administration and integrated into
one undertaking called the Ilocos Sur Irrigation Project (Isip) of the National Irrigation Administration (NIA), but it did not prosper
beyond the feasibility study phase. Balisacan said that out of the 194 priority infrastructure projects, 95 were ongoing and have been
approved for implementation, eight have already secured government approval, 47 were undergoing project preparations, while the
remaining 44 were undergoing preproject preparations.

The Inquirer tried to get a list of the projects, but was told by Neda: “We are just cleaning the list following the Neda Board discussion.
We will inform you as soon as it is uploaded/available in the website.”

While the projects will adopt a mix of financing from various development partners or Official Development Assistance (ODA), the
national government or the annual budget, Balisacan said the Marcos administration would speed up their rollout by strongly promoting
the use of the public-private partnership (PPP) scheme, which he said was “one of the cross-cutting strategies likewise identified in the
Philippine Development Plan 2023-2028.”

The Neda chief said 45 of the IFPs are seen to be financed through these partnerships with the private sector.

“The government shall harness the financial and technical resources of the private sector, which allows the public sector to allocate its
funds for greater investments in human capital development, especially to address the scarring in health and education due to the
pandemic, and provide targeted assistance that protects vulnerable sectors from economic shocks,” Balisacan said.

The PPP mode is a long-term arrangement between a government agency and private companies. It involves using private capital to
finance government projects, such as toll roads, hospitals and airports, and then allowing the private financiers to collect fees from users
over the duration of the PPP contract. Its main advantage is that it helps a cash-strapped government build much-needed public
infrastructure at no money outlay on its part.
To ensure the quality and timeliness of project execution, Balisacan said the Neda board designated Neda as the lead agency to monitor the
implementation of the IFPs.

Budget priority

“The new IFPs are seen to address the binding constraints to business investment and expansion that will create more high-quality and
resilient jobs that will allow us to meet our poverty reduction goals for the medium-term,” he said.

According to the official, IFPs would be prioritized under the government’s annual budget preparation and would “enjoy the benefits of
expedited issuance of applicable permits and licenses consistent with current legal frameworks.”

Asked if the IFPs would be finished within the Marcos administration, he said “the whole intention is to complete many of them as much
as possible,” but admitted that most of the IFPs were long-term projects, such as the North Long Haul Railway, which would involve
several years of development.
Other IFPs on the list, which he did not identify, include projects on physical connectivity and water resources, such as irrigation, water
supply and flood management.
“In the next couple of years we shall be seeing many of these already operational, for example irrigation projects, many of these are
irrigation projects, health projects, including the Cancer Center that we approved last time,” he said.

Aside from the updated IFP list, Balisacan said the Neda board, which held a meeting in Malacañang on Thursday, approved the proposed
amendments to the 2013 Neda Joint Venture Guidelines (JVG) “to ensure that [these] are aligned with the provisions of the recently
amended Build Operate Transfer, or BOT Law Implementing Rules and Regulations.”
“Today’s approval of the new IFP list and the amendments to the Neda [JVG] is a giant step toward our goal of elevating our
competitiveness as we promote the Philippines as a prime investment destination in the region,” he said.
“So the amendments will involve putting in place features that improve the competitive processes in the selection of joint venture
partners,” he said.
Balisacan pointed out that the IFPs would boost employment opportunities in the Philippines, citing the expected massive construction
activities that would improve the investment climate in the country.

48% ng Pinoy tiwalang 'gaganda ekonomiya' sa sunod na 12 buwan — SWS

James Relativo - Philstar.com

MANILA, Philippines — Halos kalahati ng mga Pilipinong nasa hustong gulang ang naniniwalang iigi ang ekonomiya sa susunod na taon, ito sa gitna ng
lumolobong unemployment rate, record-high na utang at mabilis na pagtaas ng presyo ng mga bilihin.

Napag-alaman 'yan ng Social Weather Stations sa isang survey na inilabas, Huwebes, pagdating sa mga inaasahang pagbabago ng publiko sa ekonomiya.
"It has been at excellent levels since December 2021, ranging from +40 to +50. It used to be mediocre -9 in July 2020, mediocre -5 in September 2020,
and high +24 in November 2020, during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic," paliwanag pa ng survey firm.

Kaiba ito sa "net personal optimism," na siyang sumusukat naman sa kalidad ng buhay ng mga indibidwal.

NCR 'numero uno' sa net economic optimism

Narito ang lumabas na net economic optimism ng iba't ibang bahagi ng Pilipinas batay sa December 2022 survey:

Metro Manila: +47

Mindanao: +46

Balance Luzon: +40

Visayas: +27

Sa kabila nito, bumababa ang naturang bilang sa National Capital Region kumpara noong Oktubre 2022, kung kailan +52 (excellent) ito.

Mula "very high," naging "excellent" din ito sa Mindanao mula sa dating +32. Bagama't excellent pa rin, siyam na puntos ang ibinaba ng Balance Luzon
mula +49. "Fair" lang ito sa Kabisayaan sa +25.

Napag-alaman ding mas mataas ito sa mga naggugulong nang mas maraming taon sa pormal na pag-aaral.

Iniulat ito kahapon kasabay ng paglabas ng pagtaas ng unemployment rate ng Pilipinas sa 4.8% (katumbas ng 2.37 milyong katao) nitong
Enero. Maliban pa ito sa pagsipa ng outstanding debt ng Pilipinas sa P13.7 trilyon sa parehong buwan, ang pinakamataas sa kasaysayan.

Bagama't bumaba nang konti, halos triple pa rin ang inflation rate ng Pebrero 2023 (8.6%) kumpara sa mga datos noong Pebrero 2022
(3%).

Ikinasa ang survey sa pamamagitan ng face-to-face interviews sa 1,200 katao edad 18-anyos pataas. May sampling error margins itong
±2.8% para sa national percentages at tig-±5.7% para sa Metro Manila, Balance Luzon, Visayas at Mindanao. Hindi ito kinomisyon
ninuman at ginawa bilang serbisyo publiko.
Higit 700 bahay, napinsala sa lindol sa Davao de Oro at Davao del Norte

Umabot na sa higit 700 na bahay ang nagtamo ng pinsala dahil sa malalakas na lindol na tumama noong Marso 6 at 7 sa
Davao de Oro at Davao del Norte.

Base sa assessment ng regional disaster risk reduction and management office XI nitong Huwebes, 352 ang destroyed
houses habang 394 ang partially damaged.

Nakapagtala naman ng 61 na injured na karamihan ay hinimatay at pansamantalang nawalan ng malay.

Pitong kalsada naman ang nakaranas ng pagguho ng lupa. Walong kalsada at isang tulay ang apektado ng lindol.
Higit 1,600 na pamilya ang inilikas sa 20 evacuation centers sa dalawang probinsya.

Aabot sa P42 milyon ang halaga ng pinsala sa imprastraktura sa Davao Region dulot ng mga lindol.

Twin quakes rock Davao De Oro

The first magnitude 5.9 earthquake hit around 2:02 p.m. at a depth of 34 kilometers, with its epicenter located 8
kilometers southeast of New Bataan town, Phivolcs said in an advisory. 

It said the quake could spawn aftershocks and damage. 

Phivolcs initially reported the tremor's magnitude at 6.2 and later downgraded it to 5.9. 

It also later updated the quake’s epicenter from Maragusan town to New Bataan.

The tectonic quake was felt at a "strong" Intensity 5 in Maco, Maragusan, Nabunturan, New Bataan, and Pantukan in
Davao de Oro. At this intensity, rocking could be felt throughout buildings and hanging objects may swing violently,
Phivolcs said. 
The tremor was also felt at a "moderately strong" Intensity 4 in Monkayo, Davao de Oro; Tagum, Davao del Norte; and
Bislig, Surigao del Sur. This intensity feels like the passing of a heavy truck that may rattle doors and windows, said
Phivolcs.

It said the following intensities were also observed. 

 Intensity 3 - Santa Cruz, Davao del Sur; City of Davao; City of Mati, Davao Oriental
 Intensity 2 - City of Cagayan De Oro; Antipas, Carmen, and City of Kidapawan, Cotabato; Columbio, Sultan
Kudarat
 Intensity 1 - Aleosan, Cotabato; Esperanza, Lutayan, and President Quirino, Sultan Kudarat

An employee in the Maragusan disaster office told AFP that authorities were checking reports of a landslide on a
national highway.

"We have not received any reports of other damage or casualties, but we are checking the villages around the town," he
added, declining to give his name.

"Things shook at the office but there was no damage." 

Another magnitude 5.6 earthquake struck the province at around 4:47 p.m., this time with the epicenter located 11
kilometers southeast of New Bataan town.

Intensity 4 was felt in Monkayo, Davao de Oro and in Tagum City in Davao del Norte, while Intensity 3 was felt in
Davao City, and in San Isidro, Sto. Tomas and Panabo City in Davao del Norte.

The following intensities were also observed in the following areas:

 Intensity 2 - Don Marcelino, Davao Occidental

Phivolcs also said the tremor can cause damages and spawn aftershocks.

Davao de Oro Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO) head Joseph Randy Loy said
they are currently waiting for updates from the local government units regarding the effects of the earthquakes.

He also said they have yet to receive reports of any injuries due to the earthquakes.

Governor Dorothy Montejo-Gonzaga has already suspended classes and office work in all levels of private and public
schools in the province for Wednesday.