Invest, Invest, Invest
In turning around the economy and sustaining our trajectory of growth towards first world status in 20 years, we also need to do three critical things: invest, invest, invest!This was the gist of the President’s State of the Nation Address (SoNA) yesterday, as she highlighted the need to invest in physical, intellectual, legal and security infrastructure; to invest in social safety nets through cheaper medicine, affordable housing, and better schools; and to invest in peace in Mindanao, crushing terrorism and putting a stop to human rights abuses.
The next three years, according to the President, will set record levels of well thought-out and generous investments in those areas.
To highlight this Administration’s priorities as reflected in the Superregions announced in the 2006 SoNA, this year’s SoNA started with far-off Mindanao, moving to Central Philippines, the North Luzon Agribusiness Quadrangle (NLAQ) and the Luzon Urban Beltway (LUB).
Of course, the Cyber-Corridor cuts across the entire archipelago, and showcases private investments in a capital-intensive but revenue-rich sector.
Among the highlights of this year’s SoNA are the 3,000 kilometers of Farm-toMarket Roads, for which R3 billion has been allocated. About 300 kilometers of those roads have already been built in Mindanao; 200 of 600 kilometers of farm-tomarket roads for NLAQ are also completed.
The restoration of irrigation for over a million hectares has also increased productivity in agriculture.
The RORO ports, major roads and highways, and bridges that constitute the backbone of the Strong Republic Nautical Highway, have reduced cost of agricultural cargo from the farms to the markets, where cost of freight and cost of transport was cut by half, or more than half.
The President’s report card is replete with facts and figures, targets and timelines. July 10, we inaugurated a R1.7 billion bridge in Butuan City; July 11, we formally opened the Ozamis City Airport.
Earlier this year, the new Iloilo Airport was inaugurated. The Bacolod-Silay Airport, on the other hand, just needs an access road, and should be completed by November, this year.
In NLAQ, construction of the Halsema Highway is well underway. Airports for movement of agricultural produce are also being planned.
Additional investments in education — R29 billion — were also announced, as part of the investments in the safety nets. In fact, the launching of a student loan fund should be good news for both parents and students, and school administrators.
The President reserved in her SoNA a special place of honor for the Filipino achievers, those who excelled in international academic competition, the outstanding farmers, multiawarded scientists in research and development, etc.
A source of personal pride, among those cited by the President, because he is a fellow-Cebuano, is Congressman Dodong Gullas, for his work in regionalizing the old DepEd payroll starting in 2004, together with Tessie Aquino Oreta. He is one Cebuano who does us proud.
Prouder still, is the fact that one of those cited by the President is Diona Aquino of the Presidential Management Staff who vested a whole field of international students in an academic competition of governance in China.
Research and development, better education, access to affordable health services and cheap medicines, major infrastructure, peace and security, and sound fiscal policy, are the fundamentals the President promised to put in place during her tenure, so that all that will remain for her successor is "to gather the harvest."
These fundamentals will only be as strong and sound as the President who will establish them. And this President has shown all that in the past six years.
In fact, in an almost one-hour speech constantly interrupted by applause from a gallery filled almost to the rafers, the longest applause leading to a standing ovation chained with a closing statement that this President can be as strong as she wants to be.
