The Senate is eyeing a nationwide infrastructure master plan to thwart future corruption schemes tied to public infrastructure projects and accelerate the Philippines’ development to keep pace with its ASEAN neighbors.
During a press conference on Tuesday, Senator Joseph Victor “JV” Ejercito discussed plans to hold budget hearings alongside the weekly Monday to Wednesday impeachment trial, as a separate process.
He mentioned taking into consideration the Masterplan for Infrastructure and National Development (MIND) Act, which he feels is “long overdue.”
“Ito’y magiging blueprint o magiging direksyon ng lahat ng infrastructure programs natin in the future, that would transcend several presidencies. So hopefully, itong magiging budget hearings would now, kahit na hindi pa ito naipapasa, dapat going towards that, ‘yung long-term planning,” the senator told the press.
He said the sweeping flood control scandal was made possible by the country’s lack of infrastructure planning, explaining that this allowed officials to propose and request funding for unnecessary projects and pocket the allocations.
“Kaya nga, siguro ito ‘yung problema natin sa marami nating mga infrastructure projects tulad ng flood control because of lack of planning or ‘yung master plan,” he said.
“So two birds with one stone tayo hopefully, with the master plan for infrastructure and national development, we’ll be able to catch up with our infrastructure programs, compared to our ASEAN neighbors. Second, we’ll be able to prevent—maiwasan na po natin ‘yung kasinglaki ng flood control scam o corruption, no. Hindi na po mangyayari, kasi mayro’n na tayong master plan na sinusunod, na hindi na ‘yung… magkakaroon ng proyekto para lang, alam na natin, pagkakitaan lamang, na talagang hindi naman kailangan,” he elaborated.
In July, the senator said the Philippines was lagging behind its Southeast Asian neighbors following decades of insufficient investment in public transportation.
“We were once second only to Japan in Asia. But today, we are 25 to 30 years behind our neighbors when it comes to railways and mass transit infrastructure,” Ejercito had said.
