MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) said Tuesday that around P30 billion from the Build, Build, Build program was reallocated to critical areas to help the government in responding to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.
“At this point, there was a portion of the budget that was reallocated but not that big. It was about P30 billion I think, but then, of course, we can source it from [other] projects… There are some projects that might not be of critical need at this point and we can afford to delay it,” DPWH Secretary Mark Villar said in an interview with ABS-CBN News Channel.
Villar said he sees no major effects on the flagship projects under the program with the reallocation of the budget and other consequences brought by the pandemic.
“There might be some delays obviously because the work schedules changed slightly but nevertheless like last year when we had delays, we were able to catch up,” he added, referring to the impact of the enhanced community quarantine in Luzon and other provinces on the schedules of infrastructure projects under the program.
“I feel strongly that we will be able to catch up with our targets,” said the DPWH chief.
The government’s Build, Build, Build program aims to build more bridges, roads, airports, and transport systems, among infrastructure, to spur economic growth in the country.
RELATED STORY:
DPWH to convert public buildings as quarantine sites in 10 days