P123B in projects for Visayas so far under Duterte

CEBU, Philippines — The government’s “Build, Build, Build” program has poured in around P123 billion worth of big-ticket projects in the Visayas over the past three years.

The projects include the Metro Cebu Highway, P7.9 billion Leyte Tide Embankment Project, and the Bacolod Economic Highway, among others.

Presidential Assistant for the Visayas Michael Lloyd Dino said the program makes the region’s economy bullish.

"Without a doubt, the Build, Build, Build Program under the Duterte government has spurred the economy of the Visayas," Dino said in a press statement.

The 73.75-kilometer Metro Cebu Highway, Dino said, connects Danao City in the north and City of Naga in the south.

Dino said the Cebu Integrated Inter-Modal Transport System project is also set to boost the province’s mass transport. It is expected to be partially operational by the fourth quarter of 2021.

"We have seen the implementation of our Public Utility Vehicle Modernization Program, which includes the electric jeepneys in Lapu-Lapu City and Tacloban City, and the modern bus-jeep in Cebu City. Soon we will see these in other major cities in the Visayas," he said

The Bacolod Economic Highway, on the other hand, is a 21.8-km four-lane highway. It has three bridges and two-way bike lane serving as an alternative circumferential road.

The P7.9-billion Leyte Tide Embankment Project covers 27.3 kilometers from the shore of Barangay Diit in Tacloban City to Tanauan town both in Leyte.

To prevent a repeat of the Yolanda tragedy in 2013, Dino said the project aims to protect the province from possible storm surges.

Aside from these, the government has also prioritized the modernization of public hospitals, such as the Governor Gallares Memorial Hospital in Bohol, and Eastern Visayas Regional Medical Center in Leyte amounting to P2 billion and P2.3 billion, respectively; and the improvement of airports in Iloilo City, Dumaguete City and Siquojor.

In 2018, the P7.4-billion Bohol airport and the P17.52-billion Mactan Cebu International Airport Terminal 2 in Lapu-Lapu City were among the flagship projects under the government’s infrastructure program.

Dino is optimistic that the national government will continue pouring in more projects in the Visayas.

"You have my trust Visayas, I promise that I will be working hard in making Malacañang near to us and that the best of Duterte’s administration is yet to come," he said. (FREEMAN)