Q: … nating assistance ngayong araw doon po sa event kanina sa Limay, Bataan. Ano pa po ‘yung karagdagang programa ang plano ng administrasyon para po sa maliliit na negosyante at start-ups?

PRESIDENT MARCOS: What was the question? I’m sorry…

Q: Support for start-ups, sir, ‘yung small businesses and start-ups po ‘yung mga gusto pong mag-negosyo, sir.

PRESIDENT MARCOS: Well, we have always wanted – lagi naman natin talaga sinusubukang gumawa ng tinatawag – a healthy start-up environment dahil kailangan tayo, we have to encourage innovation.

But the whole system of start-ups kailangan tulungan ‘yan dahil malaki ng porsyento na hindi natutuloy kasi bagong teknolohiya, bagong sistema.

So kung minsan after magka-long term pilot or whatever, lumalabas hindi pala praktikal so kailangan mag-start up ulit. Kaya’t kailangan nandiyan lagi ang gobyerno. So iyon ang aming ginagawa. That is what we are trying to do.

It’s beginning with the Kadiwa where the small – they can be considered start-ups because these are the businesses that closed during the lockdown. So iyon ang aming tinutulungan, they are like start-ups. But now, we will move beyond just the MSMEs, especially the technology start-ups because that is the direction that our economy has to go if we are to be able to compete.

Q: Good afternoon, sir. Gaano po ka-significant ang Bataan-Cavite Interlink Bridge Project para sa ekonomiya ng Pilipinas at nasa ilang trabaho po ‘yung kaya nitong ilikha?

PRESIDENT MARCOS: Napakalaking proyekto ito. It is a very exciting project. Matagal nang pinag-uusapan ito. I was talking to the former secretaries, Secretary Mark Villar, who was there at the beginning, 2018 pa naaprubahan. So i-minus na lang natin ‘yung two years ng lockdown.

So ngayon nandoon na tayo at in-on natin kanina, nag-drill na sila. So patuloy na siguro ito, a 32-kilometer bridge. Parang hindi ako makapaniwala magkakaroon tayo ng tulay dito sa Pilipinas na 32 kilometers. Pero ang laking bagay kasi bubuksan niya talaga ang ruta mula sa Southern Luzon hanggang Central Luzon na hindi dumadaan sa NCR. Tapos it is also – will help the congestion doon sa NCR, pati ‘yung mga port facilities. Kasi nababara na ‘yung Manila Port, masyado ng over ano – masyado ng maliit o masyado ng maraming traffic. Puwedeng ililipat dito.

So these are the many opportunities. I was asking there are actually seven contracts that are going to be implemented. Sabay-sabay ‘yan.

So ang estimate yata ni Sec. Manny is 23,000 – 23,000 jobs during construction. And this a construction that will go on for five years. And then in terms of the economic benefit, well, maliwanag na maliwanag ‘yan, ‘pag binuksan mo ‘yung isang lugar, naging madali ang pagpunta. Isipin natin mababawasan ‘yung biyahe mula sa apat na oras ay magiging 45 minutes na lang. Malaking bagay ‘yun.

At may magandang daan na can take – hindi lamang mabilis kung hindi mas madaming nakakayanan na traffic. Kaya’t ito ‘yung mga pinoproblema natin supply chain, supply chain problems, this is one – this is the solution.

The solution to the supply chain problems that we are facing now is connectivity. And when we talk about connectivity ngayon, hindi mo iniisip digital connectivity lang. Iniisip talaga natin ‘yung kalsada, ‘yung sea lanes, lahat ng paraan upang magbiyahe.

And that is precisely what this very major infrastructure development is going to – that’s the effect that it is going to have, that is what it is addressing. So we are looking forward to its completion as soon as possible.

Q: Hi, sir, what are your Holy Week plans? And dagdag ko na rin, do you have specific directives to government agencies as they prepare for the Holy Week?

PRESIDENT MARCOS: Yes, we have been preparing already for a while. But nadagdagan lang ‘yung ating preparasyon dahil biglang uminit, bigla ‘yung init na dumating.

At siguro hindi ko naman alam ba’t natin nakalimutan na ‘pag Holy Week talagang mainit. But that’s another – we have to make everybody – make sure that everybody is comfortable, that they can get to where they want as quickly as possible. Sa palagay ko naman nakahanda naman kami.

Ako simple lang, I’ll do what I do every year. I go into retreat for a few days and then I’ll spend Easter with my family.

Thank you. Salamat.

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SOURCE: PCO-PND (Presidential News Desk)