To effectively usher in the Golden Age of Infrastructure, the Philippine government under President Rodrigo Duterte increased infrastructure spending from 5.4 percent of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2017, to a possible 7.3 percent by the end of President term in 2022. This is higher than the 2.4 percent average recorded by the past six administrations in the last five decades — and the highest budget allocation for infrastructure in Philippine history.
The Department of Public Works and Highways, led by Secretary Mark Villar, has implemented projects worth P2.2 trillion. Since 2016, a total of 14,670 km of roads, 4,507 bridges, 6,022 flood mitigation structures, 129,479 classrooms, and 114 evacuation centers have already been completed under the “Build, Build, Build” program.
14,670 km of roads completed
Of the 14,670 km of roads completed, 1,359.32 km are farm-to-market roads, 999.97 km are missing links, 886.34 km are bypasses or diversion roads, 376.23 km are roads leading to airports and seaports, 350.63 km lead to economic zones, and 1,747.63 km lead to declared tourism destinations. A total of 1,638.91 km were maintained, 3,122.22 km widened, and 4,188.58 km rehabilitated and upgraded.
These include the NLEX Harbor Link Segment 10, the Cavite-Laguna Expressway, the Tarlac-Pangasinan-La Union Expressway, the Laguna Lake Highway, the Candon City Bypass Road in Ilocos Sur, the Slaughter House Road in Davao City, the Pulilan-Baliuag Diversion Road in Bulacan, the Calapan-Roxas Road in Oriental Mindoro, the Mandaue Causeway Road in Cebu, the Dipolog-Oriquieta Road in Misamis Occidental, the Dumaguete North Road in Negros Oriental, and the Taytay-El Nido Road in Palawan.
4,507 bridges completed
Of the 4,507 bridges, 971 were widened, 187 newly constructed, 1,091 rehabilitated, 261 replaced, and 1,524 retrofitted. About 473 local bridges were also built.
These include the Marcos Bridge in Marikina, the Pigalo Bridge in Isabela, the Anduyan Bridge in La Union, the Bolo-Bolo Bridge in Misamis Oriental, the Caguray Bridge in Occidental Mindoro, the Pasac-Culcul in Pampanga, the Maddiangat Bridge in Nueva Viscaya and the Pigalo Bridge in Isabela.
6,022 flood control projects
A total of 6,022 flood mitigation structures were completed since June, 2016, to expand protected flood-prone areas around the country.
These include the pumping stations at Barangays Wawang Polo and Coloong, the Flood Risk Management Project for Cagayan River, the Flood Risk Management Project for Tagoloan River, the Leyte Tide Embankment Project, and the Pasig Marikina River Flood Control Project.