MS. OSEÑA-PAEZ: Magandang hapon, Malacañang Press Corps. Welcome sa ating press briefing ngayong araw, June 2nd.
The National Economic and Development Authority Board or NEDA Board chaired by President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. convened this afternoon and approved some projects and initiatives of the government that will support the attainment of our country’s overall goal of deep economic and social transformation.
To share with us the details of the NEDA Board meeting this afternoon, we have here NEDA Secretary Arsenio M. Balisacan. Good afternoon, Secretary Balisacan.
NEDA SEC. BALISACAN: Good afternoon, Daphne. Members of the Malacañang Press Corps; ladies and gentlemen, good afternoon.
I am pleased to announce this afternoon that the NEDA Board chaired by President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., convened and approved crucial projects and guidelines that will support the attainment of our development goals as outlined in the Philippine Development Plan 2023- 2028.
First, the NEDA Board has approved the Tarlac-Pangasinan-La Union Expressway or TPLEX Extension Project in accordance with the Investment Coordination Committee guidelines – this is the fastest unsolicited proposal approval from its submission on March 17, 2023 to the approval today, June 2, 2023.
This 59.4-kilometer four-lane expressway/highway that will connect the Ilocos Region, Central Luzon and Metro Manila is expected to stimulate economic activity, alleviate road congestion, provide better and safer road access and promote the development of new growth centers in nearby regions.
The TPLEX Extension Project will be implemented through a Public-Private Partnership or PPP under the Department of Public Works and Highways. The estimated cost of the project is P23.4 billion.
Second, the NEDA Board has confirmed the Investment Coordination Committee or ICC guidelines for LGU PPP projects which outlines the guidelines and procedures for processing PPP proposals of local government units or LGUs that require ICC action under the Philippine BOT or Build-Operate-Transfer Law. The guidelines outlined the role of the regional development councils and other local development councils particulary in ensuring that the LGU projects are in line with national development plans.
Recognizing the vital role of LGUs in driving economic growth, the guidelines provide streamlined process for LGUs to pursue PPP projects that require action by the ICC. This initiative aims to empower LGUs and enable them to effectively engage in PPPs that will promote local development and attract investments.
Third, the NEDA Board has noted its earlier confirmation ad referendum of the ICC approval of the Department of Agriculture’s Philippine Rural Development Projects Scale-up or PRDP Scale-up.
This PRDP Scale-up, estimated to cost 45.01 billion pesos, aims to build on the successes of the original PRDP or Philippine Rural Development Project. Its goal is to further enhance agricultural productivity, increase income opportunities and improve the living conditions of rural communities throughout the country.
Through this project, the government aims to empower farmers and fisherfolk, strengthen value chains, and promote inclusive and sustainable agricultural growth by institutionalizing new environmental and social safeguard frameworks and protocols.
Furthermore, during the meeting, the NEDA Board reviewed the first progress report and the infrastructure flagship projects or IFPs under the Marcos administration’s Build Better More program. Out of the 194 IFPs, 68 are currently ongoing; 25 have been approved for implementation; nine are waiting government approval; and the remaining projects are either in the process of project preparation or pre-project preparation.
To recall, these high-impact infrastructure projects are designed to address the nation’s infrastructure deficit, to revive driving sustainable economic growth across priority sectors of our economy. In total, IFPs have an estimated cost of 8.3 trillion pesos.
The Marcos administration remains steadfast in its dedication to pursuing projects that are in line with its 8-Point Socioeconomic Agenda and the strategies identified in the Philippine Development Plan 2023-2028.
We are committed to implementing initiatives that will promote inclusive growth, induce high-quality job creation, and greatly improve living standards for all Filipinos.
Thank you.
MS. OSEÑA-PAEZ: Thank you. Questions from the press corps? Harley Balbuena.
HARLEY BALBUENA: Hello. Good afternoon po, Ms. Daphne, Secretary Balisacan.
Sir, doon sa approved project doon sa TPLEX, mayroon na po kaya tayong timeline kung kailan mai-implement iyong project? If ever po mabuo na iyong PPP, kailan po kaya iyong completion niya, if ever? And then, kung mayroon na rin po tayong projection kung ilan po iyong jobs na madyi-generate nito, if ever po nag-start na iyong project?
NEDA SEC. BALISACAN: Okay. The next step now after this approval is for the negotiation with the proponent, then we’ll go into a Swiss challenge, and then implementation. So the plan is to complete this project within the term of the administration, and that’s why in my earlier statement, that we are monitoring closely the implementation of these projects so that we don’t experience the kind of delays that beset many of our projects in the past.
And as I said, this will substantially improve the economic environment in Northern Luzon because that will improve better access to provinces of La Union, Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur and neighboring areas. So, there will be a lot of opportunities that will be generated, particularly employment opportunities will be generated.
Can you imagine, you can go to your favorite surfing capital in the north because this highway that we know where the end of that current highway now, it is in Rosario ‘no – from Rosario you’ll have another 50 to 59 kilometers of similar highway, good quality highway to bring you to San Juan – where the surfing capital in the north. So, the endpoint there is San Juan. And then in the future, the plan is to bring all that expressway all the way to the Ilocos, further north – to Vigan, to Laoag.
MS. OSEÑA-PAEZ: Okay. Racquel Bayan, Radyo Pilipinas.
RACQUEL BAYAN/RADYO PILIPINAS: Sir, you mentioned 194 projects po sa ilalim ng Build Better More and then 68 po iyong ongoing, nine po iyong waiting for government approval or expecting po na maaprubahan po ito bago iyong SONA po ni Pangulo?
NEDA SEC. BALISACAN: Yes. All these 194 projects will have to be either completed or largely completed during the term of this administration. Many of these or some of these will spill into the next administration just like all these previous other projects ‘no, those projects that I mentioned that will be completed this year, next; those projects that were started during the previous administration ‘no. So, it has to be like that so that we can completely address the infrastructure deficits in the country.
RACQUEL BAYAN/RADYO PILIPINAS: Iyong ano, sir, particularly iyong nine projects po waiting for the government approval na lang po you mentioned po kanina, are we expecting po na maaprubahan po before iyong SONA po ni Pangulo?
NEDA SEC. BALISACAN: Some of these, yes, because we’ll have one more NEDA Board meeting before the SONA, so we’ll see how our different agencies can complete their work, particularly the vetting and assessment of the projects. This TPLEX extension project was quite fast by our standard, the country’s norm is very fast. Similarly with the PRDP, the project that I mentioned, this World Bank-funded project – that was quite fast because we want you know, we monitored closely the execution of the plans and that’s what we promised to the president this afternoon that we’ll have a dashboard that will show where we are at any particular point in time in relation to our baseline. The one that we presented this afternoon is the baseline, and from there every quarter we’ll monitor the progress and the implementing agencies would have to explain to the president, to us, to the public, to the people why their projects are delayed for example.
MS. OSEÑA-PAEZ: Okay. Allan Francisco, PTV 4.
ALLAN FRANCISCO/PTV 4: Hi, Ms. Daphne. Hi, Sec. Magandang hapon.
NEDA SEC. BALISACAN: Good afternoon.
ALLAN FRANCISCO/PTV 4: Sir, kung mayroon man, can you cite some challenges that your department or the government are encountering in finalizing these projects that you just mentioned?
Well, some of these I have relayed to coordination among agencies, you know, because for example the preparation of TPLEX, there are many agencies there to deal with. The right of way, securing the right of way; securing their permits, securing—and then the submission of requirements by the implementing agency so that the NEDA Board secretariat can complete its work.
Sometimes or many times in the past, this submission comes in a piecemeal basis and so the complete assessment of the project could not be done. And so, what we are trying to do now is to have better coordination among the implementing agencies, and our NEDA secretariat will create a dashboard. You know in this age of new technology, we should be able to clearly identify where the bottlenecks are and, you know, if some agency is really not doing its job, then that agency would have to explain. And that’s why we want to have that dashboard for each of these specific projects, 194 projects.
OSEÑA-PAEZ: Ivan Mayrina, GMA7.
IVAN MAYRINA/GMA7: Sir, question on RCEP, I know it’s a recent development ano, iyong RCEP. Pero may nakikita na po ba tayong benefit nito sa economy in general and to the end, consumers?
NEDA SEC. BALISACAN: As I mentioned earlier here, the RCEP is a major game changer for us because it provides us improved access to the much bigger market out there for our own produce ‘no. We have so much potential for processed products, for example, processed agricultural products, but using the Filipinos as the only market will not bring you anywhere or will not bring you far, you need to have a much bigger market for these products. And so RCEP provides that kind of framework, in fact in the negotiation that we had with China and the other member countries, we got a good deal. So, that’s one.
The other one is the signal that we are sending to the world that we are ready for business; our rules with respect to trade, with respect to customs, with respect to labor, etc., are in conformity with global practices. So that the cost of doing business with the Philippines is not going to be disproportionately higher than what they could, you know, they would bear with our competitors, with the competing countries ‘no. Just by being a member, the potentials grow and so even if—especially for investment, that in fact would be the much greater benefits when investments come in because our investment climate, you know, is now comparable to those more advanced than us.
IVAN MAYRINA/GMA7: Sir, related point. Iyong iba hong mga produkto natin, mayroon ho tayong glut sa ngayon, for example iyong mga kalabasa po natin sumusobra, makakatulong ho kaya ang RCEP para hindi ho tayo magkaroon ng surplus? Mai-export natin ito at hindi malulugi iyong mga magsasaka at masira iyong pananim?
NEDA SEC. BALISACAN: Precisely, yeah. That’s because the local market is just not enough market for our produce ‘no, especially if we want to raise the prices for those so that farmers can get more returns for their produce ‘no. But we need to comply with international standards. There are certain standards that export markets and the markets outside us in terms of quality, in terms of certain, you know, the packaging. There is so much that we have to do. We have to improve our packaging for example. We have to improve our standards with respect to canning or processing. That is what I believe will be the source of the bigger benefits. Of course, this will not come overnight, I mean those benefits do not show up overnight but we have to start, you know, doing the work now. And I think by becoming part of the RCEP puts pressure on us to shape up, otherwise we lose the competition.
ALLAN FRANCISCO/PTV 4: Sir, other topic po, pahabol lang. Just early today President Marcos led the launching of the eGov PH Super App and he mentioned that eventually that app would help our economy. So, can we get your reaction on that, sir?
SEC. BALISACAN: Yeah, I think the app will greatly simplify transactions with the government. Just even transacting among government agencies is already a big challenge. But by forcing us to have a common platform, then it will be easier for us to communicate among the different agencies better, the public will have a better way of experiencing public service. So, if they can reduce their cost of transacting with the government because you have an efficient app platform for transacting with the government. You don’t have to travel if you are from Bulacan, you don’t have to go to Makati or to Pasig, just to transact with an agency. If you don’t, you know, things like that.
So, I think—and that’s the world that we are in now. The rest 0f the many countries are moving fast with digitalization and we have really no choice, but to catch up. So, if you look at the global innovation index for example, it’s quite a challenge. We are not the worst, but we are not among the best also at the moment. But now that we are getting our hands to work, all these agencies are now working together, we should be able to lift up, improve our standing in the global innovation. And that’s also another – digitization is a very important component of that innovation drive.
JONEL MARIBOJOC/UNTV: Sir, about inflation. Are we still on track doon sa forecast natin na babagal ang inflation for this year?
SEC. BALISACAN: I think we are, kaya we will announce that next week. Yeah, I think that casually, we observed the movements of prices recently, I do believe that we are on the downtrend, we are continuing with the downtrend. But we will know the number, I think on Tuesday next week.
JONEL MARIBOJOC/UNTV: Sir, may figure ba?
SEC. BALISACAN: Mayroong embargo period.
MISS DAPHNE OSEA-PAEZ: Stay tuned. Okay, Mervin Vince Lopez.
MERVIN VINCE LOPEZ/MLA. STANDARD: Sir, other topic din, sir. Sa tingin po ninyo, pipirmahan ni Pangulong Marcos iyong Maharlika na naipasa nito lang po sa Senado, at ano po kaya iyong nakikita ninyong work around para doon po sa absolute prohibition sa pension funds?
SEC. BALISACAN: You know, the President certified the passage of the Maharlika. And, I think that the amendments or the improvement of the final provisions, we can leave it to the House. They are in general quite good provisions, especially those that improved the governance of Maharlika, the safeguards and so on. Those are very useful, at least from my point of view, in clarifying what cannot be used and what can be used. I think those are good. I don’t see those as kind of a roadblock to achieving the intention or the objective of the Maharlika.
MISS DAPHNE OSEA-PAEZ: Okay, I think, this ends our press briefing. Thank you very much, Secretary Balisacan for the updates from NEDA Board and have a good weekend, Malacañang Press Corps. Thank you.
SEC. BALISACAN: Thank you again, Daphne.
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News and Information Bureau – Transcription Section
