‘Build’ project a failure? Numbers don’t lie, admin spending more than double – BCDA chief

MANILA, Philippines—Bases and Conversion Development Authority (BCDA) President Vince Dizon rejected Wednesday Senator Franklin Drilon’s claim that the Duterte administration’s “Build, build, build’’ infrastructure program was a “dismal failure,” citing the program’s contribution to economic growth.

Dizon, who is also President Duterte’s adviser on flagship programs and projects, said inroads in the infrastructure program has already jacked up government spending on infrastructure development which largely contributed to the gross domestic product (GDP).

Admin spending more than double

At a Palace briefing, Dizon said from 2016 to 2018, “the government has been spending more than any other government in recent memory.”

He stressed that the Duterte administration has been spending more than double what previous governments has been spending on infrastructure.

“From 2016 to 2018 the Duterte administration has already spent a trillion pesos in infrastructure,” he said.

Dizon added that economic growth is also due to the “massive growth” in the construction sector.

From 2016 to 2018, construction growth clocked in at 12.7 percent, he noted.

Dizon said these figures indicate that there’s a lot of activity in construction, “which is the main goal of the President” when he launched the “Build, Build, Build” program—to pump prime the economy through massive investment and infrastructure spending by the government.

READ: Drilon: ‘Build, build, build’ is a dismal failure

“The plan to spend more on infrastructure has been happening…numbers do not lie,” he said.

Drilon earlier called the “Build Build, Build” program a dismal failure with only nine out of 75 initial flagships projects under construction halfway into the Duterte administration.

The projects were supposed to usher in the golden age of infrastructure in the country and help spur development.

But Duterte’s economic managers earlier “revisited” the list add more realistic projects and drop those that are not feasible.

From the initial 75 flagship projects, the new list would be consist of some 100 projects.