A stretch of the 30-km Central Luzon Link Expressway. (Photo from the DPWH)
MANILA, Philippines — Projects of past administrations which were continued under the administration of President Rodrigo Duterte are now part of his legacy, the Palace said Wednesday.
In an interview on Politiko’s Politiskoop, acting presidential spokesperson Martin Andanar was asked how he would address the concern of credit grabbing as some infrastructure projects were started in previous administrations and are completed or nearing completion under Duterte’s stint.
“Every president naman nagkakaroon ng ganitong klaseng issue. Now, the real measure of maturity pagdating sa ating pamamahala ay ‘yung tinatawag na continuity of projects,” Andanar replied.
(Every president had this kind of issue. Now, the real measure of maturity when it comes to leadership is what we call the continuity of projects.)
“If you have a mature public administration system, itutuloy ‘yan ng bawat presidente. So, if we’re talking about ‘yung talagang Duterte legacy, of course, it’s part of the Duterte legacy kasi tinuloy. Mayroon tayong mga nagdaang mga presidente na for example, hindi tinuloy ‘yung mga project,” he went on.
(If you have a mature public administration system, each president will continue it. So, if we’re talking about the Duterte legacy, of course, it’s part of the Duterte legacy because it was pushed through. We had previous presidents who did not continue projects.)
Duterte’s Build, Build, Build Program seeks to usher in the Golden Age of Infrastructure.
Infrastructure spending under the Duterte administration doubled compared to the past six administrations.
Last year, the Department of Public Works and Highways accomplished 29,264 kilometers of roads; 5,950 bridges; 11,340 flood control projects; 222 evacuation centers; 133 Tatag ng Imprastraktura Para sa Kapayapaan at Seguridad projects; and 150,149 classrooms.