Quotes from President Rodrigo Duterte's State of the Nation Address 2020

The quotes were taken from Miss Krizette Laureta Chu page but the graphics are created by us Compiler Philippines

"Nananawagan po ako sa ating mga lessors, bayanihan po sana ang pairalin natin. This is not the time to drive away lessees. During normal times they were the source of your income. It's time for compassion. Wag natin silang ipagtabuyan. Commercial establishments are requested to allow grace periods. Let us help them recover."

"I enjoin banks to provide regulatory relief for SMEs, for loan relief for SMEs, without incurring charges. We need your help to prevent the collapse of companies saddled with amortization. As we embark on our effort of inclusive recovery...ito ang panahon para suportahan ang ating mga kababayan, na gumagawa ng produkto ng sariling atin. In the same manner, in the tourism industries, hardest hit, the LGUs must harmonize to boost tourism, ensuring everyone's wellbeing. We enjoin everyone to boost the economy by travelling locally. Once the necessary systems are in place."

"We must run after online scammers and those undermining people, we must protect the Filipino, and we must be responsible stewards of [digital]. I am committing to protect both physical and digital lives of our law abiding countrymen."

"Until the Covid-19 vaccine is available, I will not allow face to face teaching. I will not risk the lives of students and teachers." A few weeks ago, I said I will allow... but it is for January, thinking that we would have a vaccine in September. But acquiring it would be... challenging. Four days ago, I made a plea to President Xi Jinping, if they have the vaccine can we be the first to get it? So that we can normalize as fast as possible.

"TV frequencies will be reverted back to the government, and not to be used for dummies, to cope up with the demand, it will be used to give quality education to children as we shift.... Sec. Guevara, dela Pena, Honasan, and Briones, Domingues, to come up with an integrated program to make sure these TV frequencies, PTV 4, for the utmost benefit of the FIlipjno people. Allow me to be segue a little bit, for the remaining two years of the government, all that is good that belongs to the government, all the airways, they will belong to the government, and government should be given to first utilize it. Ang sobra, kanila. I call on comminication sevrices to improve their services or we will be forced to take on steps to address the service that the public is getting from you. Sometimes, we are pictured to be wea and incompetent, because we cannot impose our mandate. Wag nyo kami paantayin ng 10 taon to experience the services, that other countries experience. If it's just added capitalization, go and look for it. Maghanap kayo, if you are not ready to improve, I might just as well, close all of you. And revert back to the line telephone, at kukunin ko yan sa gobyerno. Itong Smart at itong Globe, ilang taon na ito. Kung ganon lang naman ibigay nyo sa amin, we are a republic sovereign country, because the patience of the Filipino people is reaching its limit, and I wll be the one to articulate the anger of the Filipino people, and you might not want what I'll do to you. Improve your services before December, I want to call Jesus Christ to Bethlehem, better have that line cleared."

"I have been a citizen of this country. for a long long time May pera kayo? use it. Wala kayong pera? Umalis kayo dito. You give us lousy service, and ang tao nagbabayad. Tell us now if you cannot improve on your service by December. I have two years, and the next two years will be spent improving the telecommunications of this country without you. I will find a way, I will talk to Congress and find a way."

"Martial Law in Mindanao ended without abuses by the civilian sector, without abuses by the police, without abuses by the military--because this time, I know, we know how to love our country."

"We will revive death penalty by lethal injection crimes under the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002. This law will not only help us deter criminality, but also save our children from the dangers posed by the illegal and dangerous drugs.”

"Do not do it (drugs) in my country, or I will really kill you. That is a commitment."

"Covid-19 is not the last pandemic, we need to create a (paraphrasing) department for the national health agency, national disease prevention to better prepare for a pandemic. We need the full support of the Congress in this critical endeavor. I leave it to Congress to create another department.... but it may be a multilayer, redundant thing like the Department of Health."

"We must modernize the Bureau of Fire Protection and Bureau of Immigration. In Davao, one of the fire trucks we have in the city, we have our own aside from the Bureau of Fire, ang pangalan ng truck Studebaker. Matatag talaga ang katawan, ang makina Isuzu, Bureau of Fire na overlook ng matagal."

"I am requesting congress to pass the P66 billion agricultural program to help agricultural and fishery industries to recover. (Paraphrasing) A few good men---a few good regional directors dedicated workers down below, we can do Plant Plant Plant program, mas madali ito kesa build build build."

ON THE WPS ISSUES: "Plenty of critics--both sides---have claimed that we have done nothing on [China]. Unless we are prepared to go to war, we need diplomatic endeavors. China is claiming it, we are claiming it. China has the arms, we do not have it. It is simple of that. They are in possession of the property. It's akin to... property rights, so what can we do? We have to go to war, and I cannot afford it. Maybe some other President can, but I cannot. Inutil ako dyan, and I am willing to admit it. Inutil ako dyan. Wala akong magawa. The moment I sent my Marines there in Palawan, wala pa, hindi pa nga nakaka.... tinamaan agad ng cruise missiles. Sabog na."

ON HIS COVID-19 RESPONSE "I know we have many shortcomings in addressing Covid-19 challenges, I know that but we are trying our best, and I promise you that we in government will not stop until we are able to perfect the process. We will keep trying." (rephrasing.)

"This is the time to bring out the best of us. We will bend our back, but not our spirit. From the rubbles of adversity, we build a nation from bayanihan and pagkakaisa."

DRILLING DRILON... AND THE REAL OLIGARCHY "Id like to ask Drilon were you a part of ACCRA Law when this contract with Ayala for water...? And why are you fumigating--bakit ikaw lang ang galit--dynasty dynasty. You are a hypocrite, you cannot pass an anti-Dynasty law, ikaw ang nandyan sa Congress,, ikaw mauna dito. To take it against me, for protecting my country, is something I really resent. You describe using the dictionary, synonym, and then you proceeded to characterize every one, and you say, oligarchy is not bad at all because not all oligarchies are bad. True, but to my countrymen but the oligarchy that exists in this country is the oligarchy that existed in Spanish times, and the lands, benefits to pass on on the insulares, who did not go back. "This is the oligarchy that controls the Philippines by taking control of the water and electricity by power. YAN ANG OLIGARCHY MO, DRILON. How can you not... in I insist that you pay the billions of billions you collected. In 1997, ilang bilyon, pero wala ni isa, not even a faucet was built for a water treatment facility. Yan nag mahirap sayo, you protect the oligarchy, and I suspect you helped, when you were in ACCRA. Ang mga abogado sa public documents, naka graduate ba o hindi. Would you think Ayala would get their services? Ayala got ACCRA, ACCRA did it. Ikaw galing ka doon. "

Opinion: Freedom Of Speech in The Philippines

Post by Krizette Laureta Chu

Sabi nila kaya daw ayaw nila yung anti-terrorism law because they will have no freedom of speech and they will be arrested just for protesting.

The Anti Terrorism Law took effect a week ago, and the government can start arresting IF their premise were true.

Awa ng Diyos nakaka pag rally pa rin sila.

So... mali kayo, or sinungaling kayo? Two choices only.

METRO MANILA SUBWAY. A pipe dream that is now turning into a reality

Post by Department of Transportation - Philippines

METRO MANILA SUBWAY. A pipe dream that is now turning into a reality, as the country's first-ever underground mass transport system broke ground in February 2019. Stretching across 36-kilometers, the rail line will run from Mindanao Avenue in Quezon City to NAIA Terminal 3 in Pasay City, reducing travel time from 1 hour and 10 minutes to just 45 minutes.

Did you know that plans to establish a subway network for Metro Manila dates as far back as the 1970s when it was first proposed under the Urban Transport Study in Manila Metropolitan Area (UTSMMA, 1973)?

Past administrations started a Preliminary Feasibility Study but did not actively pursue the Metro Manila Subway Project (MMSP). It was only in August 2017 that the current administration completed the Detailed Feasibility Study for the MMSP, and obtained NEDA Board approval for the Project in September 2017.

In February 2020, other components of the Tunnel Boring Machine for the subway were unveiled, marking the start of the subway's construction phase. It is targeted to be partially operable by 2022.

Quotes from President Rodrigo Duterte's State of the Nation Address 2020

Quotes from the Flying Ketchup page

The Cebu City Quarantine Facility located at Logarta Avenue, Cebu is one of 11 Quarantine Facilities being built in Region 7.

Post from DPWH Secretary Mark Villar

The Cebu City Quarantine Facility located at Logarta Avenue, Cebu is one of 11 Quarantine Facilities being built in Region 7.

The Tacloban City Bypass Road Extension Project will decongest the traffic along Daang Maharlika (Jct. San Juanico Br.)

Post from DPWH Secretary Mark Villar

The Tacloban City Bypass Road Extension Project will decongest the traffic along Daang Maharlika (Jct. San Juanico Br.) going to Tacloban City Proper, shortening the travel time from 1 ½ hrs to 45 mins once completed.

From ‘Build, Build, Build’ to rebuild

News from Marielle Medina, Minerva Generalao of business.inquirer.net

The government’s BBB program is expected to fuel the country’s ‘bounce back plan.’

The Duterte Administration’s “Build, Build, Build” (BBB) program has been envisioned to bring the country to a “golden age of infrastructure” to help enhance mobility and connectivity. It includes about 100 game-changing, big-ticket projects to build roads, bridges, railways, urban mass transport, airports, and seaports, meant to increase the productive capacity of the economy, build new and bigger cities and create jobs and increase incomes. These are also seen to help build the country and the lives of the Filipino people.

Following the lifting of restrictive community quarantines and lockdowns and amid the COVID-19 outbreak, this BBB initiative has a new strategic role to play—to help the people and the country recover from the pandemic.

‘Bounce back’ plan

Economic managers earlier said that the BBB program can help post a “V-shaped” recovery. In April, Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III said the flagship projects under the BBB program will primarily “fuel our bounce back plan,” while Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Karl Kendrick T. Chua was quoted as saying that the government “will continue to pursue a lot of the infrastructure program because that is an important element in our recovery.”

Dominguez added that restarting these projects, especially those in rural areas, will be the best way to revive the economy given its high multiplier effect in terms of raising incomes, stimulating demand, and generating new jobs and businesses. Thus, the BBB program will not only rev up the economy but will also fix the country’s weak infrastructure and logistics network, which have driven up production and operational costs for investors, Dominguez said.

Among others, the BBB program can be most useful in generating jobs and providing livelihood. The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), for instance, had reported that millions of jobs were generated from these infrastructure projects—some 1.2 million in 2019. And despite the pandemic, some 1.5 million jobs are still expected to be generated this year, according to DPWH Secretary Mark Villar.

Resumption of projects

In May, the government lifted restrictions on several key infrastructure projects for as long as the construction safety guidelines would be followed amid the COVID-19 outbreak. These include the North Luzon Expressway (NLEx) Harbor Link, a 21.65-km tollway extension from Mindanao Avenue to Commonwealth Avenue; the NLEx-South Luzon Expressway (SLEx) Connector, an 8-km elevated four-lane expressway project; the 45-km Cavite-Laguna Expressway; Metro Manila Skyway Stage 3, an 18-km elevated expressway from Buendia in Makati City to NLEx in Balintawak City; R-1 bridge project, the Tarlac-Pangasinan-La Union Expressway project; and the Subic Freeport Expressway project.

The Cabinet’s Economic Development Cluster (EDC) has also set criteria for BBB projects that could resume construction. This would be based on the agencies’ readiness and capability to implement the projects; the impact of the projects on economic growth and jobs; interest and risk level of the private sector; and inclusion of health and digital economy projects on the BBB list.

Huge impact

Among the BBB projects seen to have a huge impact is the Tarlac-Pangasinan-La Union Expressway (TPLEx) whose final section was formally opened to motorists last July 15. This 11-km segment of the TPLEx will further reduce travel time from Tarlac to Rosario to just one hour from 3.5 hours, and Metro Manila to Baguio from six hours to just 3.5 hours.

With the completion of the last section, TPLEx now has nine exit points in La Paz in Tarlac City; Victoria, Gerona, Paniqui and Moncada in Tarlac; Rosales, Urdaneta City and Pozorrubio in Pangasinan; and Rosario in La Union.

TPLEx is a P24-billion public-private partnership (PPP) project of the DPWH and San Miguel Corp.’s Private Infra Development Corp. It was constructed as an alternative road and in parallel to MacArthur Highway going up north. The full use of TPLEx significantly cuts travel time and allows more towns and cities in Central and North Luzon and the Cordilleras to be more accessible, prompting many businesses to tap the growing opportunities in these regions.

Real estate developers, for instance, have started to flock to these areas, building their respective estates and townships, capitalizing on improving incomes and rising demand for residential, commercial, and even industrial spaces.

Another BBB project with a huge impact is the Panabo flyover in Davao del Norte, which was officially opened on July 16. Like TPLEx, it will provide more access and less travel time. The 195.59-meter steel flyover will practically eliminate vehicle congestion by providing continuous traffic flow along the busy intersection of Daang Maharlika National Highway-Tadeco and Panabo Wharf Road, and thus, reducing travel time from the heart of Panabo City to neighboring towns and urban centers to just 15 minutes, from 60 minutes during peak hours.

The National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) has yet to release the full list of BBB projects that will resume implementation. But Chua had assured that the government is expected to spend about P1 trillion this year for the implementation of the BBB program.

DPWH: Build, Build, Build program created 6.57-M jobs in 4 years

News from Wilbert Tan of ph.news.yahoo.com

9 June 2020

Image from  DPWH Secretary Mark Villar

DPWH: Build, Build, Build program created 6.57-M jobs in 4 years

Aside from the obvious benefit of completed infrastructure, the Philippine Government’s Build, Build, Build (BBB) project has yielded several advantages in other areas, including the employment sector.

The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) announced that the massive undertaking is expected to generate a total of 6.57 million jobs by the end of 2020.

From employment of under 1 million in 2016 to over 1.2 million in 2019, DPWH Secretary Mark Villar attributed the expanding numbers to the continuous yearly increase in infrastructure budget afforded to his agency.

"We are glad to announce that in 2016, 911,034 jobs were generated and this number ballooned to 1,196,555 jobs in 2017; 1,714,905 in 2018; and 1,226,023 in 2019," Villar said.

Villar also acknowledged the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on his agency’s projects this year.

"This year, although we have slowed down a little bit due to the COVID-19 pandemic, an estimated 1,525,342 of jobs will be generated from the 2020 budget," added Secretary Villar.

The BBB has enjoyed the support of public, private, and semi-private entities from all over, among them the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), which has infused the project with over JPY 1.3 trillion (around P600 billion).

In line with the BBB program, JICA is also supporting the Philippines' many development agendas including the following projects:

38-kilometer North-South Commuter Railway for Malolos-Tutuban

25-kilometer Metro Manila Subway connecting Mindanao Avenue to FTI and Ninoy Aquino International Airport

Seismic improvement of Lambingan Bridge in Manila and Guadalupe Bridge in Makati

Infrastructure Modernization For Davao City (IM4Davao) initiative

Cebu-Lapulapu-Mactan Bridge

Capacity enhancement of mass LRT Lines 1 and 2, and the rehabilitation of MRT Line 3.

"This massive BBB program of President Rodrigo Roa Duterte is aimed to not only build roads, bridges, and other public infrastructure to spur economic development but also to provide a local livelihood to the Filipino people," Villar said. 

The public works secretary added that construction workers employed under the BBB program were paid based on the minimum wage rates depending on their region of employment.

Progress inspection of Pantaleon Estrella Bridge connecting Estrella St. in DPWH Inspection Sees Estrella-Pantaleon, Binondo-Intramuros Bridges Right on Track for December 2020, March 2021 completion

Post from dpwh.gov.ph

Image from Public Works and Highways Secretary Mark A. Villar

Public Works and Highways Secretary Mark A. Villar assured that despite the lockdown due to COVID-19 which hampered construction activities, the implementation of Binondo-Intramuros Bridge and Estrella- Pantaleon Bridge is right on schedule.

Secretary Villar said that based on a report of Undersecretary for Unified Project Management Office (UPMO) Operations and Technical Services Emil K. Sadain, we are seeing December 2020 completion of Estrella-Pantaleon Bridge Project while Binondo-Intramuros Bridge Project is aimed for opening by March 2021.

Undersecretary Sadain together with Project Director Virgilio C. Castillo of UPMO Roads Management Cluster 1 inspected the two (2) mega bridge projects crossing Pasig River.

Estrella-Pantaleon Bridge Project is now 56 percent completed while Binondo-Intramuros Bridge Project is now 36 percent completed, said Undersecretary Sadain.

Pouring of the foundation for abutment is continuously undertaken on Estrella-Pantaleon Bridge.

Also ongoing is the piling of works for the foundation of Binondo-Intramuros Bridge, Binondo side down ramp. By September, the steel bridging frame for the main bridge will be installed.

Although we have other urgent projects during this time of the pandemic, we want to ensure everyone that these bridge projects are being rushed for completion to serve the public, said Undersecretary Sadain.

When completed, these two (2) bridges will augment the 30 existing ones across Pasig River, Marikina River, and Manggahan Floodway and will ease traffic along EDSA and other major roads in Metro Manila.