DPWH under Duterte: Corruption, politics, slippage mar many projects

Malou Mangahas and Karol Ilagan, Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism

By a Cabinet secretary's account, Duterte is simply unstoppable when he wants to get something done. First christened "Dutertenomics," the mammoth Build, Build, Build program currently has tens of thousands of civil-works contracts bidded out, apart from multiple multibillion-peso big infrastructure projects partly funded by official development assistance (ODA) or loans from China, Japan, and other bilateral partners.This dwarfs the infrastructure frenzy under one of Duterte’s predecessors, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, who is said to have had an “edifice complex” so bad that roads and bridges were being built at a speed that would make it possible for her to inaugurate one or two in her visits to the provinces week on week.

<div class='embed-wrap'><figure data-feedback='fb:likes,fb:comments'><img src='http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2018/tvpatrol/09/03/20180903-mark-villar.jpg' ><figcaption>Public Works and Highways Secretary Mark Villar is seen during the groundbreaking ceremonies for the two China Bridges project in Intramuros, Manila on July 17, 2018. Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News/file photo</figcaption></figure></div>IN THE TWO years since he assumed office and promised to usher in a “golden age of infrastructure", President Rodrigo R. Duterte has put money where his mouth is. Boasting that, by his term's end in 2022, multiple roads, bridges, ports, and airports will rise across the nation, his Build, Build, Build program now has a potential bill upwards of PhP8.4 trillion that will come from public funds, private monies, and loans.

"Year 1 marks the launch, the testing period, for Build, Build, Build,” said an executive of a big contractor. “Year 2 is when it unravels and encounters problems. By Year 3, the chokepoint, it would be difficult to save it."

"Year 1 marks the launch, the testing period, for Build, Build, Build,” said an executive of a big contractor. “Year 2 is when it unravels and encounters problems. By Year 3, the chokepoint, it would be difficult to save it."

DPWH under Duterte: Corruption, politics, slippage mar many projects | ABS-CBN News

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DPWH under Duterte: Corruption, politics, slippage mar many projects

DPWH under Duterte: Corruption, politics, slippage mar many projects