By Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas & Bernadette D. Nicolas
THE President’s spokesman and the Speaker of the House of Representatives are saying contradictory things when it comes to the grant of special powers that will allow the Executive branch to fast-track the implementation of infrastructure projects.
House Speaker Alan Peter S. Cayetano on Thursday said Duterte shot down proposals to grant him special powers to hasten the rollout of projects under the “Build, Build, Build” (BBB) program.
Cayetano made the statement after Albay Rep. Joey S. Salceda, chairman of the House Committee on Ways and Means, filed a bill mandating the grant of special powers to the President to address the major challenges in infrastructure implementation.
Presidential Spokesman and Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Salvador S. Panelo on Thursday said Salceda’s proposal will help address major constraints in implementing projects, such as right-of-way issues.
However, Cayetano said the President told him that the grant of special powers at this time will no longer help and will not have any substantial impact as the Duterte administration is midway through its term.
“The President has already said that he doesn’t want anymore the emergency or special powers. I mean, it was not given during the time it was needed. It will have some advantage but it will not attain its objective anymore,” Cayetano said in an interview.
“The President doesn’t want it anymore. He made it clear to us. Why give it to the Executive [branch] when it said it would rather focus on the projects?” he added.
Cayetano said the grant of emergency powers was crucial during the first few months of the administration when it would have been “most effective.”
“I am a believer in the special powers or in the emergency powers. I filed that bill in the Senate,” he said.
“So, at the start of the [Duterte] administration, the first few months, the grant of emergency powers was essential but it was not given.”
Cayetano said he would talk to Salceda and Sen. Grace Poe to dissuade them from pursuing the approval of the measure.
He said the House of Representatives would instead push for the creation of a committee to oversee the government’s infrastructure flagship programs and projects. Cayetano said the proposed committee would also craft measures on how to fast-track the implementation of key infrastructure projects.
“We will let [Tarlac First District] Rep. [Carlos] Cojuangco to head this committee that will not only criticize but also propose strategies to fast-track projects. This will also allow Congress to propose as an institution other flagship [projects],” he said.
“I am confident of the ‘Build, Build, Build’ program. The problem is that you cannot build overnight, but this year, next year and in the last year of the Duterte administration in 2022, we will see its results,” Cayetano added.
Infra issues
Panelo told reporters in a press briefing in Malacañang on Thursday that right-of-way issues tend to delay the implementation of infrastructure projects.
“[Home] owners are not allowing it and others even go to the extent of filing a temporary restraining order. If there are special powers, work will be much faster,” he said.
In filing House Bill 5456, or the Flagship Emergency Act of 2019, Salceda said his proposal seeks to complete these projects on or before 2022.
According to the lawmaker, the Build, Build, Build program has to be supported with special powers to fast-track the implementation, as this would cut poverty to 14 percent by 2022 and enable the government to achieve inclusive growth.
Although he describes the infrastructure program of the Duterte administration as a work in progress, Salceda said this could be faster by easing procurement, rigidities and empowering right-of-way.
The bill declares the existence of national importance for the immediate implementation of the flagship projects of the President.
It also designates the chairman of the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) as flagship manager and authorizes special modes of procurement, while installing safeguards through the implementation of the Executive Order on Freedom of Information and creation of a Congressional Oversight Committee.
The measure indicated that the initial amount necessary to carry out the infrastructure program will be sourced from the budget of the concerned agencies and from national government savings.
The bill calls for the creation of a Congressional Oversight Committee, tasked with monitoring implementation of this act an exercise of the authority granted.
The Duterte administration has decided to revise its initial list of flagship projects and increased the number of projects to 100 from 75.
Of the 100 flagship projects, there are now 26 which will be implemented through various public-private partnership schemes.
Presidential Adviser for Flagship Projects Vivencio Dizon, concurrent Bases and Conversion Development Authority (BCDA) President and Chief Executive Officer, said the Build, Build, Build program is not a “dismal failure,” but he admitted that the government is “not happy” with the current pace of infrastructure implementation as it is “still slow.”
Image credits: AP/Bullit Marquez