Andanar cites 3 major Duterte accomplishments in 1st 12 months

Presidential Communications Operations Office Secretary Martin Andanar on Saturday cited three major accomplishments of President Rodrigo Duterte during his first year in office.

In an interview on Radio dzBB, Andanar said that the President was able to bag about $35 billion in grants for his administration's "Build Build Build" infrastructure projects. 

"Number one, yung $35 billion dollars na nalikom ng Pangulo bilang aid, grants ay ito po ay result ng pag-iikot ng Pangulo sa ibang bansa...Ito rin ay gagamitin sa pagdagdag sa golden age of infrastructure na big project," Andanar said.

The Duterte administration has allocated about P8.2 trillion solely for the "golden age of infrastructure" over the next years.

Earlier, Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno said that taxes will largely fund the infrastructure program, including at least 30 big-ticket projects.

War on drugs

Meanwhile, Andanar said that Duterte's war on drugs should also be commended for the surrender of a total 1,308,078 drug users.

According to the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA), about P18.51 billion worth of seized drugs, controlled precursors and essential chemicals (CPECs) and laboratory equipment were seized from July 1, 2016 to June 20, 2017.

"Malinaw naman po naka-1.3 [million] surrenderers, tapos yung mga drug paraphernalia, droga mismo, at yung mga drug laboratory equipment ay nagkakahalagang P18-billion yung nakumpiska. Tapos yung presyo ng hard drugs, presyo ng shabu sa merkado ay talagang tumaas, ito po ay nangunguhulugan na yung drug apparatus ay unti-unti na pong nasisira ng ating pamahalaan," Andanar said. 

Executive Orders

Also, among the most notable achievements of President Duterte after one year in office are several signed executive orders, including the Freedom of Information EO signed two days before Duterte delivered his first State of the Nation Address on July 25, 2016.

The EO states that all government offices under the executive branch are encouraged to observe and be guided by the order to enable every Filipino access to information, official records, and other public documents.

Andanar also cited Executive Order No. 26, which banned smoking in public places nationwide, as well as Executive order No. 28, regulating the use of firecrackers and other pyrotechnic devices nationwide.

"Napakadaming executive orders kagaya nung banning of cigarette smoking in public places, banning of indiscriminate use of firecrackers," Andanar said.

"So masasabi natin na ang Pangulong Duterte ay napakabilis po ng pag-aksyon niya at kung mapapansin natin ang activities ng Pangulo, napakadami po kumpara sa activities ng mga nakaraang Pangulo...kung saan ang activities ng Pangulo ay nasa mahigit 1,355 sa buong 365 days, ito po ay naga-average ng 3.6 to 3.7 activities per day," he added. —Marlly Rome Bondoc/LBG, GMA News