Build! Build! Build! program

Build! Build! Build! program
Name	Build! Build! Build! program
Country	Philippines
Launched	2017
Launched by	Rodrigo Duterte
Status	Completed/ongoing

Build! Build! Build! program

The Build! Build! Build! program was a Philippine infrastructure initiative launched in 2017 under President Rodrigo Duterte to accelerate transportation, urban, and energy projects across the Philippines. It sought to modernize Philippine transport networks, stimulate construction sectors, and attract foreign investment through public-private partnerships with partners from China, Japan, South Korea, and the United States. The initiative intersected with policy priorities associated with the Duterte administration, engaged agencies such as the Department of Public Works and Highways and the Department of Transportation, and influenced regional development plans in Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao.

Background and Objectives

The program emerged amid prior infrastructure agendas like the Aquino administration’s public works priorities and global connectivity efforts tied to the Belt and Road Initiative, prompting coordination with agencies including the National Economic and Development Authority, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, and the Asian Development Bank. Objectives included improving links between Metro Manila, Clark, and Subic to support projects near Ninoy Aquino International Airport, Clark Freeport Zone, and Subic Bay Freeport Zone; upgrading corridors such as the North Luzon Expressway, South Luzon Expressway, and the Cebu–Cordova Link Expressway; and expanding rail services exemplified by the Metro Manila Subway, North–South Commuter Railway, and Mindanao railway proposals. The strategy also referenced international models like the Trans-European Transport Network, the United States’ Interstate Highway System, and Japan’s Shinkansen to justify large-scale transport investments.

Implementation and Projects

Implementation relied on agencies such as the Philippine National Railways, the Light Rail Transit Authority, the Bases Conversion and Development Authority, and local governments in Quezon City, Cebu City, Davao City, and Iloilo City. Major projects included airport upgrades at Ninoy Aquino International Airport and Mactan–Cebu International Airport, seaport projects in Manila Harbor and Port of Davao, and bridge works like the Bataan–Cavite Interlink Bridge and the Panguil Bay Bridge. Rail programs involved cooperation with contractors and financiers from China Railway, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Hyundai Rotem, and Sumitomo Corporation; road projects engaged firms like San Miguel Corporation and Metro Pacific Investments. Parallel initiatives touched on energy transmission lines connecting to projects by the National Transmission Corporation and hydropower and renewable proposals influenced by studies from the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.

Funding and Budget

Financing mixed domestic sources such as the Bureau of the Treasury, the Development Budget Coordination Committee, and state-owned banks like the Development Bank of the Philippines with international creditors including the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, the Japan International Cooperation Agency, and the Export-Import Bank of China. The program’s budget estimates were debated in the House of Representatives and the Senate during deliberations on the General Appropriations Act and involved auditing by the Commission on Audit. Public–private partnership frameworks invoked laws like the Build-Operate-Transfer model and engaged sovereign wealth entities and multilateral lenders including the World Bank, Asian Development Bank, and the International Finance Corporation to underwrite toll road concessions and airport privatizations.

Economic and Social Impact

Proponents argued that the projects would spur investment in Special Economic Zones such as Clark Freeport Zone, Subic Bay Freeport Zone, and Cagayan Special Economic Zone, catalyze tourism in Boracay and Palawan, and reduce congestion in Metro Manila areas like Makati, Bonifacio Global City, and Ortigas Center. Studies referenced by agencies compared expected outcomes to industrialization efforts in Singapore, South Korea, and Malaysia and anticipated supply chain improvements benefiting exporters using the Port of Manila and the Port of Batangas. Social impacts were expected to include job generation for construction workers represented by unions and trade associations, improved mobility for commuters in Metro Manila and Cebu, and urban redevelopment in Iloilo and Bacolod, while intersecting with policies overseen by the Department of Labor and Employment and the Department of Social Welfare and Development.

Criticisms and Controversies

Critics from academic institutions like the University of the Philippines, civil society groups, and international NGOs raised concerns about fiscal sustainability debated in hearings in the Senate and the House of Representatives, environmental risks evaluated by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, and displacement issues litigated in local courts and discussed by the Commission on Human Rights. Controversies involved procurement disputes reviewed by the Government Procurement Policy Board, allegations of corruption investigated in Commission on Audit reports and Senate inquiries, and geopolitical tensions linked to financing from the Export-Import Bank of China versus Japan International Cooperation Agency funding that drew attention from the Department of Foreign Affairs and think tanks including the Asia Foundation.

Legacy and Evaluation Studies

Post-implementation evaluations were undertaken by the National Economic and Development Authority, the World Bank, and independent researchers at institutions such as Ateneo de Manila University and De La Salle University to assess outcomes against targets set in the Philippine Development Plan and to compare performance with infrastructure programs in Indonesia and Vietnam. Legacy debates involve transport planners from the Japan International Cooperation Agency and policy analysts from RAND Corporation and the Peterson Institute for International Economics, focusing on long-term maintenance by the Department of Public Works and Highways, resilience to typhoons as studied by the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration, and the program’s role in shaping subsequent administrations’ infrastructure platforms.

Category:Infrastructure in the Philippines