ADB vows to help Marcos admin in Build, Build, Build

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Monday vowed to work closely with the incoming Marcos administration when it comes to infrastructure projects.

ADB president Masatsugu Asakawa paid a courtesy visit on President-elect Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. on Monday wherein they discussed the Build, Build, Build program, a project started by the Duterte administration.

"The ADB is working closely with the government, development partners, and the private sector to support infra investment, including projects under the Build, Build, Build program, promote sustainable agri development and food security, and invest in Filipinos' welfare," Asakawa said in a statement.

"As we prepare our next country partnership strategy for 2024-29, we will be exploring opportunities with the incoming admin's priorities on climate change action to support a resilient and green economic recovery, climate smart transportation, and continuing investments in education, vocational skills training, employment programs, health promotion, and social protection," he added.

Asakawa emphasized that the Philippines is a key partner of the ADB.

"We are grateful for the government and the Filipino people for hosting the ADB headquarters for more than five decades and supporting our efforts across the Asia and Pacific region. I assured President-elect Marcos of ADB's strong commitment to supporting his administration's development priorities," he said.

Marcos has since promised to continue the Build, Build, Build infrastructure initiative of the outgoing administration.

Out of the 119 infrastructure flagship projects (IFP) under the Build, Build, Build program, only 12 were completed to date and additional seven will be completed by June — the last month of the Duterte administration — while 12 more are set to be completed by December 2022.

The new administration will inherit 88 projects that are expected to be completed in the next six years.

PHL-Israel

Meanwhile, in Marcos' meeting with Ambassador Ilan Fluss of Israel, technology as well as food security were among the topics in the meeting.

"We discussed how the innovation and technologies of Israel, and [how] some of the practices we developed in Israel can contribute to the development process in the Philippines," Fluss said.

"As you know, one of the priority areas is agriculture and food security and employment so this was an important area which we discussed," he added.

The security aspect was also discussed as Israel and the Philippines face similar challenges when it comes to terrorism. However, no specific defense deal was talked about.

Pagpapalakas ng relasyon ng Israel at Pilipinas, pinag-usapan nina Israeli Ambassador to the Philippines Ilan Fluss at President-elect Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.@dzbb pic.twitter.com/9CnDCFCXPh

— Mark Makalalad (@MMakalalad) June 13, 2022

 —KG, GMA News