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MANILA – As the unemployment rate declined in July 2020 to 10 percent from 17.7 percent in April 2020, Presidential Adviser for Flagship Programs Vivencio Dizon said infrastructure projects will continue to generate more jobs for Filipinos amid the global health crisis.
In a Palace briefing Thursday, Dizon said he supports the gradual reopening of the economy to create employment as many Filipinos were displaced from their jobs due to the pandemic.
“The direction of gradually opening the economy is critical so we can bring back the jobs for our fellow Filipinos and restart our economic growth, and infrastructure is a vital part of this,” he said in Filipino.
He added the government vows to bolster the Build, Build, Build program and generate local employment.
He said the administration has increased the infrastructure spending to 6 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) from the previous administration’s expenditure of 3 percent of GDP.
Dizon said that despite the pandemic, the government is pursuing flagship infrastructure projects.
Among the projects that are near completion include the Clark International Airport, Metro Manila Skyway Stage 3 connecting the North Luzon and South Luzon expressways, Metro Rail Transit Line 7 (MRT-7), Bonifacio Global City-Ortigas Link, Bicol International Airport Development Project, General Santos International Airport, Leyte Tide Embankment, Cagayan De Oro Coastal Road, Boracay Circumferential Road, Sindangan-Bayog-Lakewood Road, Central Luzon Link Expressway Phase 1, and Light Rail Transit Line 2 extension project.
Dizon said there are currently 92 projects under the Build, Build, Build program amounting to PHP4.1 trillion.
The government has revamped the flagship infrastructure projects, displacing eight projects, and adding 13 more.
Socioeconomic Planning Acting Secretary Karl Kendrick Chua said five sectors provided the most number of returning jobs in July, which include trade, agriculture, construction, manufacturing, and transport that benefited from the easing of lockdown measures since May. (PNA)
