Recently, the Philippines ranked 73rd out of 128 economies in terms of Science

and Technology and Innovation (STI) index, citing the country's strength in
research and commercialization of STI idea

The “BBB” program consists of around 20,000 infrastructure projects nationwide,

involving roads, highways, farm-to-market roads, airports, seaports, terminals,
evacuation centres, lighthouses, hospitals, schools, government centres, and the
like. It is the centrepiece and one of the top-priority programs of the Duterte
administration, which has been allocated a budget of around PHP 8 trillion
(US$164.7 billion) for a six-year period (2017-2022).

 The Build! Build! Build! (BBB) Program is the centerpiece program of the Duterte
administration that aims to usher the “Golden age of infrastructure” in the
Philippines.
 The Philippines suffers from unemployment and poverty because of poor
infrastructure.
 Lack of infrastructure has long been cited as the “Achilles’ heel” of Philippine
economic development.
 The BBB Program seeks to accelerate public infrastructure expenditure from an
average of 2.9 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) during the Aquino
regime to about 7.3 percent at the end of the Duterte administration. This will
cost around P8 trillion to P9 trillion from 2016 to 2022 to address the huge
infrastructure backlog in the country.

Thus, President Duterte initiated the “Build, Build, Build” (BBB) Program, which seeks to
accelerate infrastructure spending and develop industries that will yield robust growth,
create jobs and improve the lives of Filipinos. Public spending on infrastructure projects
is targeted at P8 to 9 trillion from 2017 to 2022.
Key infrastructure projects under the BBB Program include: (a) the Subic-Clark Railway;
(b) the North-South railway projects connecting Los Baños, Laguna to Tutuban, Manila
and Clark Freeport in Pampanga; and (c) a 1,500-hectare industrial park in Clark,
Pampanga; and (d) an expanded Clark International Airport also in Pampanga.

 The project aims to construct a new passenger terminal building to accommodate

8 million passengers per annum, as well as the construction and installation of all
required associated facilities – both landslide and air-side, to support the
operations of the Clark Internationa
  The Subic-Clark Railway Project is a component of the PNR Luzon System
Development Framework providing initial freight service between the Subic Bay
Freeport Zone and the Clark Freeport and Special Economic Zone, linking Subic
Port with Clark International Airport and other major economic hubs in Central
Luzon, especially New Clark City, and forming an integrated logistics hub for the
development of Central Luzon as a new growth center to decongest Metro
Manila.

 The government counts on Build, Build, Build to fuel the country's economic
recovery from the pandemic, but it will rely on loans to fund many of the
projects
 With the revised list, the administration now aims to complete a little over half
(56) of the projects by the time Duterte steps down in 2022. The rest of the
projects (44) are targeted to be finished up until 2028 – if all goes according to
plan.
 This means that the fate of at least 44 projects are not guaranteed and would
depend on Duterte's successor. (READ: Duterte's golden age of infrastructure
will have to be completed by next president)
 Carlo Asuncion, chief economist at Union Bank of the Philippines, said continuing
a project from a previous administration is possible as long as the government
has the inclination to go through the necessary bureaucratic processes. He cited
the development of the TPLEX extension as an example, 

Nevertheless, despite these setbacks, “BBB” projects were among the first major
economic activities to resume operation in the Philippines. 
Presidential Adviser for Flagship Programs Vivencio Dizon during the joint Development
Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC) press conference a month ago said, “We have
not only continued with “BBB” and our flagship projects, but we will also further intensify
this to serve as a major driver in our recovery for the coming months.” 
He further reiterated that infrastructure projects under the “BBB” program will help in
the recovery of the economy that shrank for the second consecutive quarter and fuel
economic growth in the coming months. 
Based on DPWH data, it is estimated that the “BBB” program had created five million
jobs from 2016 to 2019. It is estimated that it will generate more than 1.5 million jobs
this year despite the pandemic. This to some extent, will help in stabilising and boosting
economic activity in the country.
The delivery and completion of “BBB” projects within the target timeframe under the
current administration will not only steer and drive economic recovery of the
country amid the pandemic and in the post-pandemic era, but will to some degree
enhance, improve and further develop land, air, sea, and inter-island connectivity
and mobility in the country. 
This will also facilitate balanced development and to a greater extent diffuse
economic activities and development from the urban centres of the country
toward rural areas or the countryside. The transport-related infrastructure
projects will not only ease traffic and road congestion in the National Capital
Region (NCR) and other traditional urban areas like Metro Davao and Metro Cebu
but will also facilitate the transporting of people and goods from one place/island
to another. 
The completion of all these infrastructure projects, in the long run, would not only
to a greater extent, sustain, accelerate, and achieve the desired economic growth
of the country but most importantly, will improve the Philippines’ global
competitiveness.