Anna Mae Yu Lamentillo turns over copies of her book, “Night Owl,” to National Library Director Cesar Gilbert Adriano.
MANILA, Philippines — Anna Mae Yu Lamentillo, undersecretary of the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) and former Build, Build, Build committee chair, has donated copies of her book, “Night Owl,” to the National Library of the Philippines for distribution to public libraries nationwide.
The book was formally accepted by National Library Director Cesar Gilbert Adriano.
“Night Owl” narrates the country’s journey towards improved lives and abounding opportunities brought about by Build, Build, Build — the massive infrastructure program of then-President Rodrigo Duterte. It includes a chapter on the digital infrastructure agenda of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. anchored on the Build Better More thrust.
“In distributing ‘Night Owl’ to our public libraries, we hope to share with more Filipinos the story of our progress as a nation, specifically how increased investments on infrastructure projects helped pump prime the economy and improved the lives of many Filipinos, mainly through better access to essential services and opportunities for livelihood, improved connectivity, and enhanced traffic mobility,” Lamentillo said.
“We also want to share how we were able to overcome the challenges that came with such an ambitious program, and how political will and the strong desire to provide Filipinos what is due them helped propel the whole Build, Build, Build team to accomplish 29,264 kilometers of roads, 5,950 bridges, 11,340 flood mitigation structures, 222 evacuation centers, 150,149 classrooms, 214 airport projects, and 451 seaport projects in a period of five years,” she added.
Lamentillo said she hopes that through “Night Owl” more citizens will realize the importance of these infrastructure developments.
She added that “Night Owl” is like a progress report on the Duterte administration’s Build, Build, Build, particularly the accomplishments of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) under then-Secretary Mark Villar.
Moreover, it is a preview of what citizens can look forward to under the Marcos administration as it pursues the government’s program to improve lives through infrastructure, including a strong digital infrastructure program that will be spearheaded by DICT under the leadership of Secretary Ivan John Uy.
“Night Owl” is the first book authored by Lamentillo. It was edited by Manila Bulletin lifestyle editor Arnel Patawaran and published by the Manila Bulletin Publishing Corp.