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Senate finance panel chairman JV Ejercito on Tuesday said funding for infrastructure flagship projects of the Marcos administration under the 2027 national budget should not be reduced so the Philippines can keep up with its neighboring countries.
Interviewed on Super Radyo dzBB, Ejercito said the Philippine government should continue the funding for flagship projects as neighbors in Southeast Asia like Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, and Vietnam have invested heavily on infrastructure.
"Dapat 'yung mga flagship projects po, 'yung mga malalaking railway systems, 'yung mga airports, ports, 'yung mga malalaking tulay, dapat no touch po 'yan nang sa ganoon makahabol tayo sa nation building… Tingin ko napag-iwanan na tayo ng ating mga karatig bansa," he said.
(Flagship projects, such as major railway systems, airports, ports, and big bridges, should remain untouched, so that we can continue our nation-building… I believe we have already been left behind by our neighboring countries.)
"Nag-aalala ako dito dahil kapag nangyari naman 'to maiiwan na naman tayo in terms of infrastructure projects. Sana maibalik ho natin ito. No touch sana kapag flagship projects," he added.
(I'm concerned about this, because if this happens, we will once again fall behind in terms of infrastructure projects. I hope we can restore the budget for these. Flagship projects should not be touched.)
Ejercito previously questioned the reported realignment of around P206 billion in the House of Representatives' version of the proposed P7.2-trillion national budget for 2027.
Among the items he flagged was the P130-billion funding reduction for foreign-assisted projects.
The Senate finance panel chairman said the transportation sector also suffered a major cut of P40.4 billion, including P19.7 billion intended for the Metro Manila Subway Project and P15 billion for the North-South Commuter Railway.
Ejercito emphasized that it would cost the country more if foreign-assisted projects were delayed.
"The more we delay, the more it becomes more expensive. Kaya mas maganda matapos na ito, mapakinabangan, sumigla na ang ekonomiya natin. These are economic drivers. Ito ang kailangan natin for nation building na mga proyekto," he said.
(The more we delay, the more it becomes more expensive. So it's better we finish these already so that we could use them and our economy becomes stronger. These are economic drivers. These projects are what we need for nation building.) — VDV, GMA News