Lacson

Lacson wants Better, Bolder, Boosted’ infra program

March 21, 2022 People's Tonight 399 views

PARTIDO Reporma standard-bearer Panfilo ‘Ping’ Lacson aims to develop a more conservative approach towards investing on future infrastructure projects of the national government that would not result in sinking the country deeper into foreign and domestic debts.

Lacson laid out this plan in the first round of the Commission on Elections’ (COMELEC) ‘PiliPinas Debates 2022: The Turning Point’ over the weekend, which sought the presidential candidates’ strategic policies for the economy and pandemic recovery moving forward.

The seasoned lawmaker said he would rather let the people ‘be the judge’ when asked to assess whether the ‘Build, Build, Build’ (BBB) program of the outgoing government could be considered a success, noting that out of the 118 projects in the pipeline, only 12 have been accomplished.

“Out of 118 projects, ang na-accomplish lang 12. So, kayo na po ang humusga. Mga kababayan na lang natin ang humusga kung matagumpay ba. Kung itutuloy? Yes. Pero gawin nating better, i-boost natin, at dapat bolder,” Lacson said.

Lacson maintained his earlier position that he would honor the pending big-ticket projects of the government, citing the ‘inviolability of contracts’ it signed with its partners under the ‘BBB’ program, especially when it involved foreign investments that we could no longer turn our backs on.

The longtime public servant, however, recommended a possible shift from ‘BBB’ to a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) arrangement in carrying out future major infrastructure projects nationwide to ease the P12.03-trillion debts and counting that would be left behind by the outgoing administration.

Lacson is convinced that bringing back the ‘PPP’ while keeping some of the key elements of the ‘BBB’ is the most reasonable strategy, considering there are big private corporations willing to contribute and participate in joint infrastructure projects for the sake of nation-building.

“Sa aking pananaw, legacy ng pangkasalukuyang administrasyon ang ‘Build, Build, Build.’ Huwag nating iwanan. Kaya nga lang dahil nga sinabi ko kanina lubog tayo sa utang ay kailangan talaga mag-isip tayo ng ibang pamamaraan. Mag-shift tayo sa Public-Private Partnership,” Lacson said.

Lacson explained that while the nation would still incur indirect financial obligations under the PPP agreement, it would not be that burdensome, because the projects could be delivered as a form of investment via a Build-Operate-Transfer contract within a 25- to 30-year period.

The ‘BBB’ is considered as one of the centerpiece programs of President Rodrigo Duterte that was meant to accelerate economic growth through infrastructure development. Its execution, however, was met with serious challenges such as right-of-way issues, procurement problems, among other causes of delays.

The ‘PPP,’ meanwhile, was an initiative of the late President Benigno S. Aquino III whose administration relied on joint ventures between government and private corporations to finance and construct several high-impact infrastructure projects nationwide.

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