The Filipino Times previously reported that the Duterte administration eyes a P8 trillion (Dh580 billion) infrastructure program, which could create 2 million jobs annually.
Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno said the program could require the government to bring home overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).
A group economists from the University of Asia and the Pacific (UA&P) and the First Metro Investments Corporation (FMIC) urged the government to speed up infrastructure projects that could boost economic growth and create more jobs.
Victor Abola, an economist at the U&AP, said President Rodrigo Duterte’s “Build, build, build” program will be “the driver from the government side”.
“You have to see that infrastructure means lower costs for us for doing business, moving the goods, moving people, which are essential for an efficient economy,” Abola said.
FMIC Chairman Francisco Sebastian said the government’s infrastructure programs will also bolster tourism and agriculture sectors.
He added that the infrastructure program will also complement the contribution of OFW remittances and business process outsourcing (BPO), the Philippines’ top pillars, in the country’s growth.
“We should have engine of growth other than [OFW remittances and BPO]. We like we hear about infrastructure, it sounds very promising. We are pleased that ‘Dutertenomics’ is now part of the world economic lexicon. It means pushing economic growth through aggressive infrastructure spending,” Sebastian said.
