P100-billion infra pump priming set in NL
The government’s P100-billion infrastructure-focused pump-priming program in North Luzon Super-region (NLS) is foreseen to have tremendous multiplier effect on the economy with accelerated crops-livestock haulage that will boost farm productivity.
Presidential Management Staff (PMS) Chief Arthur C. Yap, also NLS champion, is optimistic that the well-budgetted NLS pump-priming over five years can put to reality dreams of raising farmers’ income as a major factor for economic recovery in the outskirts.
"Farmers will always be financed. If the weather is good, there are always financiers, traders. The one thing that no one can help them with is in new bridges, roads, irrigation," said Yap, a former Agriculture secretary, in an interview.
Economists had always believed infrastructure support have a push-button progressive effect on poverty-stricken rural areas far more than provision of credit or agricultural inputs (seeds, fertilizers) can do.
The distinct difference of this time’s NLS, compared to other projects, is it has the money.
"The P372-billion national spending as told in the president’s SONA (State- of-the-Nation Address) has already been committed. Where do you think is the Bureau of Treasury taking money to retire Philippine debt papers?" he said.
"That means there’s really money. OFW (overseas Filipino workers) fund is up, revenue collection is up. We’re closing the gap, we’re removing the deficit. That’s why we have stable interest rates. Government is not borrowing as much. There’s lower interest rate. And with lesser borrowing, banks want to upload" fund for lending.
The NLS investments will be in windmill, P23.25 billion; cold chain, P0.186 billion; irrigation, P24.4 billion; seaport, P3.39 billion; airport, P3.6 billion; roads P41.4 billion; FMR, P10.8 billion; tourism, P1.2 billion; and biodiesel, P0.5 billion.
To roll out NLS’s infrastructure program, Yap said, will be local government units (LGUs) which have earned the capability to effect projects that impact heavily on the grassroots being in the heart of the economic dearth themselves.
"You have to give it to the local government to implement. Another option is to have line agencies to implement it with them," he said.
Multilateral financiers now require involvement of LGUs as a requirement to funding rural projects as one of the safeguard to ensuring that capital-intensive projects do not become white elephants.
Yap is confident that even the private sector are willing in to come in through a build-operatetransfer (BOT) scheme in this endeavor amid their earlier reluctance to invest.
"Why is it that the private sector doesn’t seem to be kicking in their investment? Because the political scene keeps investment out. But if the state of infrastructure nationally is enhanced, you think you can stop private sector from investing?"
The Ayala Group, for one, expressed interest to finance an infrastructure BOT as much as other private companies.
"Private sector people are the ones who suggested that. That’s why we’ll have a National Infrastructure Summit in October," Yap said.
"Private sector involvement will make it more transparent (not really more costly) because you’re opening it up to the world. For every peso that the private sector finances, government is able to spend more money for programs for which people are sensitive-health and education."
PMS Director Andy Cui stressed that the availability of money for pump priming is so evident as shown by line agencies’ low absorptive capacity of huge official development assistance (ODA) loan. The Department of Agriculture, for one, has been paying Asian Development Bank commitment charges for failure to implement projects on time.
Yap said the Office of the President has so far released P50 million for the Halsema Highway repair and P100 million for the Mt. Data-Bontoc road construction. The PMS is set to hold a roadshow this week in Region 2 to see through the implementation of the infrastructure projects.
NLS covers the Ilocos provinces, Apayao, Aurora, Nueva Ecija, Nueva Vizcaya, Tarlac, Quirino, Isabela, Mt. Province, Cagayan, Pangasinan, and Zambales. The region now supplies 37 percent of the country’s rice production (5.41 million metric tons, MT); corn, 26 percent (1.33 million MT; and vegetable, 65 percent (305,000 MT).
The NLS is seen as a gateway to potential agricultural export of the country to China, Hongkong, Taiwan, and nearby Asian neighbors.
Presidential Management Staff (PMS) Chief Arthur C. Yap, also NLS champion, is optimistic that the well-budgetted NLS pump-priming over five years can put to reality dreams of raising farmers’ income as a major factor for economic recovery in the outskirts.
"Farmers will always be financed. If the weather is good, there are always financiers, traders. The one thing that no one can help them with is in new bridges, roads, irrigation," said Yap, a former Agriculture secretary, in an interview.
Economists had always believed infrastructure support have a push-button progressive effect on poverty-stricken rural areas far more than provision of credit or agricultural inputs (seeds, fertilizers) can do.
The distinct difference of this time’s NLS, compared to other projects, is it has the money.
"The P372-billion national spending as told in the president’s SONA (State- of-the-Nation Address) has already been committed. Where do you think is the Bureau of Treasury taking money to retire Philippine debt papers?" he said.
"That means there’s really money. OFW (overseas Filipino workers) fund is up, revenue collection is up. We’re closing the gap, we’re removing the deficit. That’s why we have stable interest rates. Government is not borrowing as much. There’s lower interest rate. And with lesser borrowing, banks want to upload" fund for lending.
The NLS investments will be in windmill, P23.25 billion; cold chain, P0.186 billion; irrigation, P24.4 billion; seaport, P3.39 billion; airport, P3.6 billion; roads P41.4 billion; FMR, P10.8 billion; tourism, P1.2 billion; and biodiesel, P0.5 billion.
To roll out NLS’s infrastructure program, Yap said, will be local government units (LGUs) which have earned the capability to effect projects that impact heavily on the grassroots being in the heart of the economic dearth themselves.
"You have to give it to the local government to implement. Another option is to have line agencies to implement it with them," he said.
Multilateral financiers now require involvement of LGUs as a requirement to funding rural projects as one of the safeguard to ensuring that capital-intensive projects do not become white elephants.
Yap is confident that even the private sector are willing in to come in through a build-operatetransfer (BOT) scheme in this endeavor amid their earlier reluctance to invest.
"Why is it that the private sector doesn’t seem to be kicking in their investment? Because the political scene keeps investment out. But if the state of infrastructure nationally is enhanced, you think you can stop private sector from investing?"
The Ayala Group, for one, expressed interest to finance an infrastructure BOT as much as other private companies.
"Private sector people are the ones who suggested that. That’s why we’ll have a National Infrastructure Summit in October," Yap said.
"Private sector involvement will make it more transparent (not really more costly) because you’re opening it up to the world. For every peso that the private sector finances, government is able to spend more money for programs for which people are sensitive-health and education."
PMS Director Andy Cui stressed that the availability of money for pump priming is so evident as shown by line agencies’ low absorptive capacity of huge official development assistance (ODA) loan. The Department of Agriculture, for one, has been paying Asian Development Bank commitment charges for failure to implement projects on time.
Yap said the Office of the President has so far released P50 million for the Halsema Highway repair and P100 million for the Mt. Data-Bontoc road construction. The PMS is set to hold a roadshow this week in Region 2 to see through the implementation of the infrastructure projects.
NLS covers the Ilocos provinces, Apayao, Aurora, Nueva Ecija, Nueva Vizcaya, Tarlac, Quirino, Isabela, Mt. Province, Cagayan, Pangasinan, and Zambales. The region now supplies 37 percent of the country’s rice production (5.41 million metric tons, MT); corn, 26 percent (1.33 million MT; and vegetable, 65 percent (305,000 MT).
The NLS is seen as a gateway to potential agricultural export of the country to China, Hongkong, Taiwan, and nearby Asian neighbors.
posted by OlongapoCity Zambales at
7:25 AM
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