'Build, Build, Build' to continue as planned despite COVID-19 pandemic, officials say

The Philippines ' "Build, Build, Build" program will continue as planned with only over a year left under the Duterte administration, officials said Monday.

According to Public Works and Highways Secretary Mark Villar, there will be no changes in targets even with the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.

"The construction is all systems go and we're still pursuing our targets whether there's COVID or not," he said during the Sulong Pilipinas Forum.

"In other words, we're prepared for this new normal and we can expect that the Build, Build, Build will continue as planned," he added.

Under the ambitious infrastructure spending program, the administration targets to spend P4.7 trillion for projects across the country.

Presidential Adviser for Flagship Programs and Projects Vivencio Dizon in 2019 said the goal is to break ground for all 100 infrastructure projects by the end of Duterte's term, with 30% completed by then.

For this year alone, Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade said some P88.75-billion worth of projects are targeted to be completed this year.

"This is the averaging total cost of all the projects we intend to complete by 2021 and by complete, we mean either full completion or partial operability completion, totaling all in all 163 projects," he said in the same event.

For its part, economic think tank IBON Foundation said the government is "overstating" the benefits of its infrastructure spending, while "ignoring" the daily suffering of families that were denied financial assistance amid the pandemic.

"The cost-benefit analysis of Duterte's economic managers is all wrong," IBON executive director Sonny Africa said in a separate statement.

"Their infrastructure delusion is building roads and railways to hunger for tens of millions of Filipinos," he added.—AOL, GMA News