Anna Mae Yu Lamentillo Back in 2016 — no one knew what "Build, Build, Build" meant or what it stood for. Critics had very little expectation of the team. They wagered against our success — not knowing that when they did — they gambled against the future of their country. They were certain...
NIGHT OWL Anna Mae Yu Lamentillo If you are in any way part of “Build, Build, Build” — be strong and steadfast. The truth will not change only because alternate realities are repeated, or that facts are often ignored. The attacks will be more vicious and it will be at a rate that we have...
29,264 kilometers of roads, 5,950 bridges, 214 airport and 451 seaport projects NIGHT OWL Anna Mae Yu Lamentillo I began writing this piece on “Build, Build, Build” while on my way back to Manila from Tarlac after inaugurating the first 18-kilometer segment of Central Luzon Link Freeway with...
NIGHT OWL Anna Mae Yu Lamentillo Davao City — Philippines’ largest city in terms of land area — was recognized as the second most livable city in the country among the 33 highly urbanized cities in the Philippines. This was the findings of Dr. John Vianne Murcia, specialist of the University...
NIGHT OWL Anna Mae Yu Lamentillo According to Philippine Statistics Authority, the economy of Central Luzon grew by 5.6 percent in 2019. Service has the largest share in the region’s economy accounting for 45.1 percent. Industry accounts for 42.6 percent while agriculture, forestry and fishing is...
NIGHT OWL Anna Mae Yu Lamentillo In the Roadmap Study for Sustainable Urban Development in Metro Cebu – Japan International Cooperation Agency predicted the increase of economic activity in the province by 15 times its 2010 level and the creation of one million jobs should the bluprint be...
NIGHT OWL Anna Mae Yu Lamentillo When I was still in elementary, my father Manuel and mother Elnora, would tell me about the San Juanico Bridge, a 2.16-km bridge connecting the island provinces of Samar and Leyte. Whenever we went home to Iloilo, I’d often wonder why we had to take boats or...
NIGHT OWL Anna Mae Yu Lamentillo When Pigalo Bridge in Isabela was devastated by typhoons Pedring and Quiel in 2011, farmers who wanted to deliver their agricultural products to Manila or Tuguegarao had to take a 76-kilometer detour via Alicia-Angadanan-San Guillermo-Naguilian Road. Residents of...
NIGHT OWL Anna Mae Yu Lamentillo On our first few months in Department of Public Works and Highways, we have received the most number of complaints on Circumferential Road 6 — a toll free expressway we now call Laguna Lake Highway. At that time, it was full of large potholes — so large that we...
NIGHT OWL Anna Mae Yu Lamentillo When Secretary Mark Villar first assumed position in DPWH — he did not have a lot of public inspections. He would quietly go from one province to another — without any notice or advice. He would always tell us it was important to put the proper systems in place...
NIGHT OWL Anna Mae Yu Lamentillo Almost four years after President Rodrigo Duterte launched its “Build, Build, Build” program, Philippine government’s most ambitious infrastructure plan — computer-generated images which were once used to present a vision are turning into actual roads and...
NIGHT OWL Anna Mae Yu Lamentillo In 2017 — I attended the Emerging Leaders Program at the Harvard Kennedy School which was chaired by Dr. Elaine Kamarck and Dr. Christopher Robichaud. In our class on ethics — we discussed about the responsibilities of public action via a simulation exercise of...
