Anna Mae Lamentillo releases book on Build, Build, Build

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MANILA, Philippines — Former Build, Build, Build committee chair Anna Mae Yu Lamentillo will be launching her first book, Night Owl, which details the Duterte administration’s infrastructure accomplishments in the last five years.

Authored by Lamentillo, edited by Manila Bulletin Lifestyle editor, Arnel Patawaran, and published by Manila Bulletin Publishing Corporation, Night Owl narrates the nation’s journey to improved lives and abounding opportunities brought about by President Rodrigo Duterte’s massive infrastructure program.

“This book is my tribute to all the brains behind the Philippines’ Golden Age of Infrastructure, and dedicated to all 6.5 million Filipino workers who have turned Build, Build, Build from vision to reality. This is their story, and also our story as a nation—the toils and challenges we had to overcome to be able to connect not only communities, but our islands, and Luzon, Visayas, Mindanao,” said Lamentillo.

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The author explains that Night Owl is like a progress report on the Duterte administration’s “Build, Build, Build” program, particularly: 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 built over the past five years.

As former chair of the Build, Build, Build committee under the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), Lamentillo also narrates in the book how the DPWH, under the leadership of then Secretary Mark A. Villar, was able to find solutions to lingering problems on right-of-way, ghost projects, and unmet deadlines.

She shares snippets of her own experience—how she also wished, years ago, for the Philippines to have better roads, and how she witnessed first-hand the massive transformation in the country’s infrastructure network anchored on an infrastructure plan consistent with the Master Plan on ASEAN Connectivity.

Night Owl reports how the accomplished projects have led to improved lives, mainly through better access to essential services and opportunities for livelihood, and enhanced traffic mobility, and how ongoing projects will benefit the people, our communities, and the economy.

“Years ago, I was only dreaming about the Philippines having a good infrastructure network. Today, I am proud to be able to see it come to life and to actually be part of it. I am more convinced that ‘Build, Build, Build’ should be institutionalized. Through Night Owl, I hope more Filipinos would also realize its importance. This book is proof that we can be part of the trillion-dollar club if we sustain these programs and efforts,” said Lamentillo.

The book also features profiles of the heads of agency involved in the program and includes forewords from the President, Executive Secretary Salvador C. Medialdea, and Secretary Villar.

JPV