By Genalyn Kabiling
Not a single infrastructure project was completed by the previous administration, Malacañang said Tuesday in trying to dispute "baseless" criticisms about the Duterte government's infrastructure program.
Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo (PCOO / FILE PHOTO / MANILA BULLETIN)
Presidential Spokesman Salvador Panelo made the statement after Senator Franklin Drilon claimed the administration's Build Build Build program was supposedly a dismal failure.
"It’s baseless," Panelo said during a news conference at the Palace.
"Senator Frank, look at the administration you previously belonged , six years not a single infrastructure na nagawa . Malayong-malayo sa dami ," he said.
Drilon earlier said that only nine of the 75 flagship projects of the administration have started construction.
He said the execution of the infrastructure was “simply dismal,” adding he does not think that substantial progress will be achieved with only two and a half years left in Duterte’s term.
Panelo, however, disputed Drilon's figure about the projects under construction.
He said unlike the previous administration, the Duterte administration has made strides on infrastructure development. He then enumerated the status of several roads, bridges, airports and other projects under construction and rehabilitation.
Among the pending projects mentioned by Panelo are LRT Cavite Extension (Baclaran-Cavite), MRT-7 common station, LRT-2 East Extension, Philippine National Railway Bulacan-Clark, Subic-Clark Railway, Mindanao Railway, Bulacan Airport, Sangley Airport, Ninoy Aquino International Airport rehabilitation and Clark Airport Extension.