KAILANGAN umano ng “enhanced Build, Build, Build” para agad na makabawi ang bansa sa pagbagal ng paglago ng ekonomiya dahil sa coronavirus disease 2019.
Ayon kay House committee on ways and means at Albay Rep. Joey Salceda ang infrastructure projects ay isa sa pinakamabisang “economic stimulus tool” na kailangan ng bansa.
Tinataya na sa bawat P200 bilyong imprastraktura, 463,000 ang nalilikhang trabaho kada taon. Kaya ang pagbawas ng P200 bilyon ng gobyerno sa infrastructure spending ay nangangahulugan ng pagkawala sa 463,000 trabaho.
“As an output multiplier, it is significant. It will also stave off part of the job losses we may incur because of Covid-19. It will definitely have to be part of the policy mix,” ani Salceda. “The economic multiplier of infrastructure can be as high as 3.66, while its Year 1 multiplier can be as high as 1.02. This suggests that for every peso spent on infrastructure an additional peso is generated in consumption and investment.”
At sa paggugol umano ng limitadong pondo dapat piliin ang mga proyektong popondohan.
“As I said before, speed is your friend, delay is your enemy – in economics and in pandemic response. So we must prioritize mainly on the basis of speed,” dagdag pa ng solon. “At this stage, some measure of prioritization will have to be exercised in the implementation of infrastructure projects. We propose the following criteria: 1. High economic value; 2. Can be finished within the President’s term; 3. High potential for job creation.”
Ipinanukala rin ni Salceda ang pagpasa ng Build, Build, Build emergency powers upang mapabilis ang paggawa sa high-value projects.
“To enable the spillover effects of fully operational infrastructure sooner, the House of Representatives must consider passing some iteration of House Bill No. 5456, which grants the President special powers to expedite Build, Build, Build. This representation is prepared to recalibrate the bill to better suit the needs of the infrastructure agencies,” dagdag pa ng solon.