MANILA -- Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) Secretary Martin Andanar on Tuesday said that the implementation of various projects under the Duterte administration’s Build, Build, Build Program help save the country’s economy as the pandemic persists.

In an interview, Secretary Andanar mentioned some of the projects being implemented in provinces, to ensure that the bid for further development is spread across the country. These include infrastructure built and underway in Region 2 such as the upgraded airport projects in Tuguegarao Airport, Palanan Airport, Basco Airport, and Cauayan Airport; farm-to-market roads, and access roads.

“Itong lahat pong ito ay bahagi po ng Duterte Legacy. Ang Build, Build, Build ni Presidente ay isang pinakamahalgang cornerstone ng bansa. We are hovering almost 5% infrastructure spending compared to an average of 2% nitong mga nakaraang administrasyon [These are all part of the Duterte Legacy. The Build, Build, Build of the President is one of the important cornerstones of our country. We are hovering almost 5% infrastructure spending compared to an average of 2% in the previous administrations],” he said.

“Kaya nga tawag natin sa Digong administration ay Golden Age of Infrastructure dahil malaki ang perang ibinubuhos natin. More than 6 million jobs created because of this and actually naisasalba po ang ating ekonomiya ngayong panahon ng pandemya dahil sa Build, Build, Build [That’s the reason why the Duterte Administration is called the Golden Age of Infrastructure because we invested so much on this. More than 6 million jobs created because of this. Actually the Build, Build, Build helped save our economy during the pandemic],” he added.

The country is now experiencing massive expansion in infrastructure unseen since the time of former President Ferdinand Marcos, which helped transform its economy and maintained the Philippines’ title as one of Asia’s rising tigers.

In terms of road enhancement and development, Secretary Andanar said that the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) has reported the completion of more than 29,000 road projects, including widening and rehabilitation.

At least 671 infrastructure projects under the Department of Transportation are already complete. These include the 451 building and rehabilitation projects for the country’s seaports and 214 airport projects.

Secretary Andanar also cited that more than 150,000 classrooms were built and rehabilitated in the past five years of the administration. (PCOO)