MANILA -- Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Undersecretary Emil K. Sadain, President Rodrigo Roa Duterte’s newly designated Chief Implementer of flagship projects under the Build Build Build (BBB) Program, has promoted collaborative engagements among oversight and implementing agencies  to accelerate the preparation, implementation, and completion of various infrastructure flagship projects (IFPs) under the Build Build Build (BBB) Program. 

Undersecretary Sadain said that the project teams of DPWH under the leadership of Secretary Roger G. Mercado and the Department of Budget and Management, National Economic and Development Authority, Department of Finance, Department of Transportation, Department of Health, National Irrigation Administration, Metropolitan Waterworks Sewerage System, Local Water Utilities Administration, Department of the Interior and Local Govt., Department of Information Communication Technology, Toll Regulatory Board, and Philippine Statistics Authority are working across sectoral boundaries to achieve overarching goals of completing their respective marquee projects by overcoming bottlenecks and delays. 

The BBB Chief Implementer organized the successful holding of the 1st Inter-Agency Forum on December 14-15 which provided the opportunity to thresh out and recommend solutions on actual issues on the ground which most of the time are not reported on usual accomplishment reports of agencies in the past.

In his 4th quarter report to the Office of the President thru Executive Secretary Salvador C. Medialdea, Undersecretary Sadain disclosed the completion of eight (8) projects worth P94.64 Billion in 2021 despite being affected by the pandemic crisis. 

Moving forward, we are hoping that the next administration will continue the President Duterte’s legacy of infrastructure development thru the BBB Program for recovery, growth and sustainability as highlighted by the President during the recent signing of 2022 General Appropriations Act or national budget to increase the Philippines growth potential and give the Filipinos a better life, added Undersecretary Sadain.

Both DPWH and the Department of Transportation (DOTr) have completed four (4) flagship projects each in 2021. 

Completed under DPWH fortfolio are projects mostly implemented by DPWH Unified Project Management Office (UPMO) Operarions headed by Undersecretary Sadain to include the BGC-Ortigas Center Link Road Project, Estrella Pantaleon Bridge, and Marawi Transcentral Road Phase 1. 

BGC-Ortigas Center Link Road Project and Estrella Pantaleon Bridge are new alternative linkages between major thoroughfares constructed to increase the number of usable roadways that would decongest traffic in EDSA and other major roads in Metro Manila.

The BGC-Ortigas Center Link Road Project shortened to 12 minutes the travel time between Bonifacio Global City and Ortigas Central Business District while Estrella Pantaleon Bridge is a modern bridge connecting cities of Mandaluyong and Makati within five (5) minutes that has not only improved mobility but also enhanced the resilience against natural disasters. 

The 18.97-kilometer Marawi Transcentral Road Phase 1 funded by a grant from Japan fulfilled the government’s promise to build back better Marawi City with a peaceful road to recovery from the suffering due to the siege four (4) years ago. 

A fourth project completed and inaugurated by President Duterte funded under the Public-Private Partnership Program is the 18-kilometer Metro Manila Skyway Stage 3 from Buendia, Makati City to Balintawak, Quezon City that connected North Luzon Expressway (NLEX) and South Luzon Expressway (SLEX). 

DOTr implemented and completed projects in 2021 are the LTO Central Command Center, LRT-2 East Extension, GenSan Airport Development Project, and Bicol International Airport. 

A total of 77 IFPs projects worth P3.51 trillion are on-going while 27 projects are currently in the pipeline worth P1.09 trillion. 

Considered pipeline projects are those that may start construction within the present administration but will be part of the continuity pipeline of the succeeding administrations.

In terms of completion, 18 projects will be completed within the administration’s term  while eight (8) projects will be delivered to completion in the second semester of 2022 and 86 projects in 2023 onwards.

Other than providing the much-needed infrastructure for Filipinos, investment in the IFPs under BBB Program  has the biggest multiplier in terms of created jobs. 

Based on preliminary estimates of the National Economic and Development Authority, it is projected that about 580,000 employment in 2021 and about 620,000 employment in 2022 will be generated from the implementation of the IFPs. (DPWH)