To stimulate economic development in the whole country, Senator Dick Gordon pointed to the need for a master plan that would maximize the potential of infrastructures in the country.
While commending the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) for allocating trillions of pesos for different infrastructure projects nationwide, Gordon stressed that infrastructure projects would be rendered worthless if they will not be used to create jobs and economic opportunities for the people.
“I believe in the conceptual view of the budget versus nitpicking so that when we allocate funds it will be in a responsible way. We can build all the infrastructure we want but if we don’t use them to create jobs, balewala ang mga yun. The aim of building infrastructures is to create more jobs for people and to open up economic opportunities in the country. We got to make things work,” the veteran legislator said during the first Department of Budget Coordinating Council hearing on the proposed 2018 budget.
The seasoned lawmaker said he had long been proposing having a game plan that would maximize the potential of the available infrastructures to spur economic development in the country and ensure that Filipinos can live better lives.
“We need to have a game plan for our regions to maximize the potential of our infrastructure-one that can be replicated throughout the country. We need to generate a plan for our people. A plan to uplift lives. A plan that will benefit, not only for today, but in the long run,” the senator stressed.
He cited his bill, Senate Bill No. 1325 or the “Regional Investment and Infrastructure Corporation of Central Luzon,” which aims to make optimal use of existing infrastructures in Central Luzon and the available resources to spur development, not only in the region, but also in nearby regions and the whole country, as well.
Gordon added the investment corridor that his bill seeks to create would generate jobs; disperse industries; decongest Manila, which could then be re-urbanized and transformed into a mega-city; and could be replicated in other regions.