Gov't says no problem, contractors worried emergency powers won't be granted

MANILA, Philippines - The Duterte administration sees no problems on its higher infrastructure spending plans even without emergency powers to solve Metro Manila's traffic woes, but the private sector is worried.

Budget Undersecretary Laura Pascua said only one agency-- the Department of Transportation (DOT)-- will be affected by the planned measure for next year pending before Congress.

"I don't think the delay in the granting of emergency powers will adversely affect spending," Pascua told The STAR in a text message.

"(The powers) are only for DOT so why will it affect the spending rate of other agencies?" she added.

But Ibarra Paulino, executive director of the Philippine Contractors Association, expressed a different opinion.

"That remains to be seen, but based on experience, contractors and projects are often delayed by right-of-way problems. This could be addressed by emergency powers," he said in a phone interview.

ongressional committees are still deliberating whether or not to grant President Rodrigo Duterte emergency powers allegedly to solve the Metro's infamous traffic situation.

At one point, senators have expressed dismay that the DOT have no specific plans how to implement projects once it gets the permission to skirt procurement laws and open private roads to traffic.

Right-of-way acquisition, which pertains to the government paying private owners that will be affected by infrastructure projects, are done during or after procurement.

For Paulino, it will be good to have that secured first before the government even awards the project.

"We have already proposed that to the government. If we have our way, we really want to have the right-of-way first because this has been causing too much delays," he said.

"It's a hindrance," he said.

With emergency powers, Paulino said the president could "easily" just tell agencies to address the problem immediately. 

But there is already a law, Republic Act 10752, which laid out the methods how the state could facilitate the "expeditious acquisition" of lands.

Pascua also said that DOT also accounts for a small portion of infrastructure budget worth P706.2 billion next year.

The amount was a 18.5-percent increase from this year's projected P595.9 billion. In terms of economic output, the 2017 figure is equivalent to 4.4 percent of gross domestic product (GDP).

Including outlays that will transcend next year, the Duterte government aims to spend P860 billion for infrastructure, or five percent of GDP.

"The budget of DOT is P55.5 billion or a mere 1.6 percent of the budget for 2017," Pascua said.

"Why should (spending) be affected?" she said. Disbursement is only recorded in state balance sheets once checks for contractors are secured.

Aside from dealing with heavy traffic, Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno earlier tagged the emergency powers as measure to fast track spending.

Still, Paulino is optimistic legislators will grant Duterte emergency powers. "We are hopeful. It is really needed," he said.