DENR, DICT now part of NEDA's infra committee—Balisacan
By Raymund Antonio and Raymund Antonio
National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Secretary Arsenio Balisacan said on Thursday, Sept. 21, that the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) will sit as members of the NEDA Board’s Committee on Infrastructure (InfraCom).
NEDA Secretary Arsenio Balisacan (Photo from the Presidential Communications Office)
The official made this announcement in a statement delivered during a Palace press briefing after the ninth NEDA board meeting that was presided over by President Marcos.
He reported that the board, headed by the Chief Executive himself, approved the reconstitution of InfraCom because the DENR and DICT would be “integral members.”
“The DENR’s inclusion in the InfraCom underscores the government’s commitment to ensuring that infrastructure development takes into account critical elements such as ecosystem protection, rehabilitation and management, sustainability, and resilience,” he said.
Balisacan added that DENR’s membership would also ensure representation of the water sector, which will further benefit the recent creation of the Water Resource Management Office within the agency.
With information and technology critical to overall infrastructure development, he stressed the “vital role” that DICT will play “in appropriately integrating ICT-related considerations in the committee’s deliberations and decisions.”
Meanwhile, the NEDA chief disclosed that the board also updated the overall principles and general
recommendations for the proposed National Government-Local Government Unit (NG-LGU) Cost-Sharing schemes for financing infrastructure projects.
“This aims to delineate the roles of the national government and the LGUs, particularly in resource-poor areas or where resources may be
needed to carry out the devolved functions and shared between the national government and LGUs,” he added.
The Marcos administration’s commitment to aggressively pursue its infrastructure development can also be seen in its endorsement of a proposal to reduce tariffs on gypsum and anhydrite from three to zero percent.
The materials, used in the production of plasterboard and cement but cannot be produced locally, would help lower the cost of constructing infrastructure projects.
“With the reduction in tariffs, we anticipate a decrease in production costs and an improvement in the industry’s competitiveness as we ramp up our infrastructure drive,” Balisacan said.
He also added that the public can also gain from the reduced tariffs on gypsum and anhydrite because government savings can increase resources for social benefits.