Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III has recognized the invaluable support provided by the Philippines’ development partners in the region in jumpstarting the government’s infrastructure modernization program, which, he said, is the centerpiece of the Duterte administration’s economic strategy to achieve historic growth levels, create jobs, enhance productivity and put the Philippines on par with the most dynamic economies of this region.

Dominguez acknowledged the support provided by countries like China, Japan and South Korea, as well as by multilateral institutions such as the Asian Development Bank (ADB)and the World Bank.

The government’s strategic investments not only in infrastructure but in human capital as well will propel the country to the ranks of upper middle-income economies, a status that this administration hopes to achieve by 2022 and which President Duterte envisions to be “his greatest legacy,” Dominguez said.

“So far, things are moving as we anticipated. The 75 big-ticket strategic infrastructure investments that form the Build, Build, Build program are proceeding according to schedule. When this program is completed, no part of the country, no island economy, no conflict-afflicted territory will be left out of the mainstream of national progress,” Dominguez said in his speech read for him by Finance Undersecretary Bayani Agabin during the Midterm Conference of the Federation of Filipino-Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry Inc. (FFCCCII) held recently at the Century Park Hotel.

Dominguez said that through a combination of soft loans and grants, China helped the Philippines jump-start its “Build, Build, Build” infrastructure program

In his speech, Dominguez also expressed his gratitude to Japan and South Korea for similarly supporting the Philippines’ infra buildup through increased flows of their respective official development assistance (ODA) to the country.

“China has been a staunch and reliable friend at this time of our economic emergence, and we are grateful for this,” he said. “We are likewise grateful to our friends in the region, particularly Japan and South Korea. They too have stepped up their official development assistance to support our economic emergence.”

He likewise recognized the assistanceprovided by multilateral financing institutions such as the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank (ADB), which have helped fund infrastructure projects that aim to open new growth corridors in less developed areas of the Visayas and Mindanao.

“The modern global economy is driven by connectedness. The better connected an economy is, the more competitive it will be. This is the reason the Duterte administration has made the Build, Build, Build program its centerpiece,” Dominguez said. “This is the program that will help stimulate the domestic economy to historic growth levels, create jobs, enhance productivity and put us on par with the most dynamic economies of this region.”

Complementing the administration’s “Build Build Build” strategy is a Comprehensive Tax Reform Program (CTRP) to ensure a simpler, fairer and more efficient tax system and level the playing field for businesses to thrive, while at the same time, guaranteeing a robust and recurrent revenue flow that will further enable the government to increase investments in infrastructure and human capital development, he said.

“The government, of course, can only push the country’s progress so far. The private sector carries the larger part of the load,” Dominguez said. “The country depends on business leaders like those gathered in this hall who are keen on remaining competitive and willing to innovate. You carry the greater part of the load for making progress a reality for our people.”

Dominguez said the economy needs enterprises that create sustainable businesses to support its growth, and world-class corporations capable of raising the capital required to improve the country’s productivity, adopting global best practices and meeting the highest standards of corporate governance.

In his speech, Dominguez commended the FFCCCII for being highly organized and for its staunch commitment to corporate social responsibility (CSR) through its “superb” programs meant to serve the community in general.

With this in mind, Dominguez appealed to the members of the business group to support the rehabilitation and reconstruction efforts in the devastated city of Marawi by helping the government restore it as a thriving commercial center.

“To a large extent, government will be capable of restoring the physical damage the city sustained. But only a group like this one can help restore the vibrant economy that was once there. I am sure the Federation will be generous as usual on this request,” Dominguez said.

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