Duterte not going down without spending more of our money
We’ve been spending a lot but, we’re also gearing up to gaining maybe some of it back. Maybe.
Covid walked so our wallets could run
When the lockdowns were implemented in 2020, it made it difficult for various construction projects to be done at the national level.
Come 2021, the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) reported that infrastructure development came back in full force and boy, did our bills feel it.
Public spending on infrastructure and other capital reached 31% with P895.1 billion spent in 2021 compared to P681.5 billion in the previous year. The amount also exceeded the P761.2 billion program for the year.
Last year, infrastructure disbursements reached a whopping P1.12 trillion, equivalent to 5.8% of the country’s economy. This includes projects implemented by the national government, as well as infrastructure-related transfers to local governments plus subsidies and equity injected into state-run corporations.
The DBM mentions that a large part of what was developed were “road networks, flood control, construction of multi-purpose buildings, and the aviation and rail transport foreign-assisted projects of the Department of Transportation such as the Tacloban, Kalibo, and Bukidnon airport projects, and the Metro Manila Subway project phase 1”.
The Armed Forces of the Philippines modernization program and health facilities enhancement program from both the Department of National Defense and the Department of Health respectively were also big contributors of the massive price tag.
Don’t worry (allegedly)
Before you start sweating at the thought of all of this spending is coming out of your paycheck with lovely taxes, Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III reassures that the Department of Finance (DOF) is doubling their efforts “to recover lost opportunities incurred by the economy during the prolonged pandemic.”
In a recorded video message during the first day of the virtual Rotary International District 3870 Conference, Dominguez emphasizes that their work in the last quarter of President Duterte’s term will be “for the better future of the next generation of Filipinos.”
His confidence in the economy’s recovery stems from the steady reopening of the country to pave way for businesses to continue normal operations. Unemployment is also being addressed with foreign direct investments (FDIs) reaching a record-high of $10.5 billion.
The one massive bump on the road is the developing conflict between Russia and Ukraine in which the Duterte administration is “closely observing” to make sure that food and oil price increases remain regulated.
According to Dominguez, the government is planning on extending aid in the forms of cash grants for the bottom 50% of the population, fuel subsidies for the public transportation sector, and fuel discounts for small farmers and fisherfolk.
