Former Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Secretary Rogelio “Babes” Singson highlighted the strategic policy reforms and infrastructure projects of the administration of the late President Benigno Simeon Aquino III that have resulted in long-term benefits for the Philippines during a recent virtual town hall discussion hosted by think tank Stratbase Albert del Rosario Institute (ADRi) in commemoration of Ninoy Aquino Day.
He discussed major strategic policies adopted by the Aquino administration, namely, the Good Governance Reform and Anti-Corruption Program, Strategic Convergence Program, the Public-Private-Partnership program, and the DPWH management policy of “Right Projects, Right Cost, Right Quality, Right on Time, and Implemented by the Right People.”
Singson said, “What we did was really upgrade our Philippine National Roads into higher standards and safer roads.”
“We did not implement projects that only benefited a few or were based on the whims of the politicians in the area. So, we had to choose the right projects,” Singson said.
Singson pointed out that, “Under our Public-Private Partnership program, we developed High Standard Highway Master Plan for Metro Manila and radius from NCR [National Capital Region], which means, all the way to the north, to Tarlac, all the way to the south, leading to Batangas and to Quezon province, we had already established the High Standard Highway to connect and disperse people from Metro Manila.”
He added, “We already had paved almost 100 percent of almost all primary national roads, 90 percent of secondary roads, and tertiary at 80 percent. In terms of bridges, we have already fixed all of the bridges. We had already made permanent all the wooden bridges we inherited in 2010.”
“We had to open a lot of east-west which led to the major ports of Cagayan de Oro, Nasipit, Sasa Port in Davao, and General Santos. So what we did was connect the ports, airports to the major production centers in the whole of Mindanao. To me this was a major development that we consider a major legacy of the Aquino administration,” Singson said.
ADRi President Prof. Dindo Manhit, in his statement, said “by contrasting the practices, policies, and results of the Duterte administration with those of the Aquino administration, we can extract valuable lessons for current and future leaders to build back better through the preservation and the promotion of a democratic way of life, a democracy with integrity and decency in government, public participation, transparency, and dynamism for social and institutional reforms.”
“I believe that principled leadership, good governance, a dignified foreign policy is good economics. We need a reality check for all Filipinos and government leaders. In facing challenges, great leaders may be adventurous in their decisions and actions. Greater leaders decide by principle, and confidently act through reforms. This is the political wisdom behind building back better that should enlighten us in the 2022 national elections,” Manhit said.
Image courtesy of Jimbo Albano