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Infra updates II 17 April 2008 |
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As we move from the 2nd
to the 3rd quarter of the year, and preparations for the President’s
Annual Message to Congress begin, the Steering Committee will undertake
intensified monitoring of projects. From the largely timebased monitoring of cost efficiencies, we will take a closer look at the community benefits – the outcomes as a function of the outputs – to determine the immediate and short-term benefits of the projects to the community and the stakeholders. In particular, the local government units, the business community and the end-users will be interviewed by our monitoring teams, to see just how much their lives or lifestyle, and their business, have been affected and improved. The Government has prioritized 149 major infrastructure projects, a large part of which will provide for the seamless connectivity of the entire country through a network of RollOn/Roll-Off ports, airports, major roads and bridges, and a modernized railroad for much of Luzon. As of our last report, 19 of those projects have already been completed, with the rest in various stages of completion, but for all of them to be finished by 2010, or by the end of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo’s term. This is the President’s legacy, the infrastructure that will transport the country into first world modernity. Our monitoring teams will validate field reports on the projects with photovideo documentation, to highlight actual community benefits. A major component of the infrastructure program, the Strong Republic Nautical Highway (SRNH) has already made so much difference to domestic travel. Summer destinations, like Boracay, which in the past were accessible only by air and at stratospheric cost, can now be reached through the Nautical Highway, at much lower cost and in quick time. Travel from Manila to Davao and other major destinations in Mindanao is now routinely done by bus or surface transport, at much cheaper cost and in a shorter time. Agricultural producers are now linked closer to the markets through this highway, resulting in lower costs to the consumer. In addition, sleepy ports along the path of the nautical highway have been transformed into bustling business hubs, thanks to the passenger traffic and trade. At the Steering Committee, where our oversight function brings project perspectives that are far larger than from the ground, the potentials and prospects of all the interconnected communities and business hubs look very real and are clearly feasible. All these, for sure, will be validated by our field teams. It is also worth noting that already, the bonds of closer cooperation between the implementing agencies and sectoral representatives are being strengthened. The Department of Public Works and Highways is working closely with National Youth Commission Chairman Richard Nalupta, who represents the youth; and Jun Nicdao of Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas with the National Irrigation Administration. They are both members of the committee. Among the objectives in creating the Pro Performance System Steering Committee is the reinforcement of public-private partnership and collaboration in monitoring government projects, to accelerate the delivery of the Medium Term Public Investment Program by 2010. Given the level of multi-sectoral cooperation and commitment at the committee as of now, we are well on our way to achieving that objective. |
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