‘Build, Build, Build’ bill filed to continue Duterte projects

Villar said it determines the role of implementing agencies in developing essential transport, energy, water resources, information and communications technology, social infrastructure systems, and other basic overhead facilities in the country. (File Photo: KING RODRIGUEZ/ PRESIDENTIAL PHOTO)

MANILA – Former head of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), Sen. Mark Villar, aims to continue to advocate for lasting reforms in the infrastructure sector beyond the term of former president Rodrigo Duterte, as the neophyte lawmaker assumed his seat in the Senate.

Villar has filed the “Build, Build, Build” Act that seeks to institutionalize and create a 30-year National Infrastructure Program for the country.

This is in line with his campaign promise to ensure the continuity of infrastructure projects from the Duterte administration and improve the lives of Filipinos amid the pandemic and other challenges, he said on Thursday.

“I am certain that with the passage of this bill, we will encourage investors, facilitate job creation, boost economic growth, and most importantly, improve the quality of life in both the urban and rural areas of the country,” Villar said in a statement.

He assured that the bill would bring much-needed improvement to the country’s roads, bridges, and other structures while giving thousands of jobs to the Filipinos.

“In the past six years, the Filipino people have seen and experienced the impact of the Philippines’ Golden Age of Infrastructure. The ‘Build, Build, Build’ program of the government resulted in the creation of hundreds of ports, thousands of roads and bridges, and millions of jobs,” Villar said.

“As the country welcomes a new administration, it is important to keep the momentum going by uniting behind this advocacy and bringing it to new heights, not only for us but also for the generations to come.”

The “Build, Build, Build” bill lays down the policies and strategies to be pursued by the government in identifying the initial core infrastructure projects that will be given priority.

Villar said it determines the role of implementing agencies in developing essential transport, energy, water resources, information and communications technology, social infrastructure systems, and other basic overhead facilities in the country.