President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. assured that the Panay-Guimaras-Negros (PGN) Island Bridges spanning 32 kilometers are among the priorities for construction under his administration.
Marcos, during his second State of the Nation Address (SONA) on Monday, July 24, cited the prioritization of physical connectivity under the country’s P8.3 trillion “Build Better More” program to further spur economic growth.
The infrastructure spending shall be about 5 to 6 percent of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP), with its majority allocated for physical connectivity, he said.
“The underlying logic to our infrastructure development is economic efficiency. We are opening up all gateways to mobilize goods and services at less cost and in less time, and ultimately, to drive the economy,” Marcos said.
The president also reported that the country’s agriculture sector has recorded a 2.2 percent growth in the first quarter of the year.
“Our aim is to boost our local agricultural production — through consolidation, modernization, mechanization, and improvement of value chains — augmented by timely and calibrated importation, as needed,” he said.
Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson said the two things the president announced in his SONA that are good for Negros Occidental are the construction of the PGN bridges and the assurance of calibrated importation of agricultural products.
Representatives Alfredo Marañon III (Neg. Occ., 2nd District), Francisco Benitez (Neg. Occ., 3rd District), Emilio Bernardino Yulo (Neg. Occ., 5th District) and Mercedes Alvarez (Neg. Occ., 6th District) also lauded the president’s assurance that the PGN bridges were among his priorities.
Marañon also said he is very hopeful and optimistic for the country with the president’s announcement of the creation of more jobs, putting emphasis on agriculture and fisheries, together with increased infrastructure spending and the inflation going down to 2-3 percent.
Benitez said the SONA was good, particularly the president’s report that inflation has been at least cushioned and that attention will be paid to the blue economy and fisheries, as well as food security and agriculture.
He also cited the president’s report on better employment and underemployment rates.
Yulo said was elated that the PGN bridges were prominently mentioned along with the completion of the Visayas Grid interconnection.
He also noted that the proposed tax on sugar sweetened beverages was not mentioned by the president in his SONA.
Alvarez said it is good news for Negros that the president highlighted the PGN bridges as one of his administration’s major project.
“The president also mentioned that his administration will prioritize the expansion of Kadiwa stores that would ease agri inflation, the significance of farm-to-market roads to ensure food security, and the development of the aquaculture industry through multi-species hatcheries, which we plan to establish in the CHICKS (Cauayan,Hinoba-an, Ilog, Candoni, Kabankalan, Sipalay) area,” she said.*