PBBM: MIF will play major role in gov’t infrastructure plans

PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said the Maharlika Investment Fund (MIF) will play an important role in the government’s aggressive push for more infrastructure projects.

Mr. Marcos, during his second State of the Nation Address (SONA) on Monday, also said the government intends to keep infrastructure spending at 5% to 6% of the country’s gross domestic product.

He added that his P8.3 trillion “Build Better More” program “is currently in progress and being vigorously implemented.”

“For strategic financing, some of the nation’s high-priority projects can now look to the newly-established Maharlika Investment Fund without the added debt burden,” President Marcos said, adding that the government currently has 194 major infrastructure projects, of which 123 are new.

Among the projects he specifically mentioned in his SONA were the 1,200-kilometer Luzon

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Solon urges colleagues to pass agri business bill

REP. Wilbert T. Lee of AGRI party-list group said the initial success of the Department of Agriculture (DA) program is a “proof of concept” that should convince House leaders to prioritize the passage of a measure that will institutionalize the agribusiness and marketing initiative intended to help link local farmers and fishers directly to consumers.

Lee, principal author of House Bill No. 3957 or the Kadiwa Agri-Food Terminal Act, made the statement with the government aggressively pursuing the establishment of Kadiwa centers around the country.

Lee pointed out that “data from the DA shows that by April 2021, 41,357 farmers had already benefited from the Kadiwa program, generating sales of 7.241 billion pesos and serving nearly 4 million households.”

Filed by Lee in August 2022, the Kadiwa Agri-Food Terminal Act aims to scale up the Kadiwa food terminal model and effectively promote the growth of the local agricultural markets while providing consumers with affordable agriculture and fisheries products.

“Once rolled out in every city and municipality, these agri-food terminals and centers can serve as a location where local farmers and fisherfolk can sell their goods directly to the consumers and the general market,” explained Lee, who stressed that prices in Kadiwa centers should be lower by 10 to 20 percent “since bringing the products won’t entail high transportation costs.”Maricel V. Cruz food security,” he added.

Over the weekend, the House leader promised to closely monitor the implementation of the New Agrarian Emancipation Act, under which P5.7 billion in debt incurred by 610,000 farmers and other agrarian reform beneficiaries are to be written off.

He said the House would also “upgrade and modernize” by strengthening PublicPrivate Partnership program.

Romualdez also reassured foreign investors that the House would continue to pursue investor-friendly measures.

“We will actively engage in discussions and cooperate with the global business community to create an international business environment in our country,” he said.

Meanwhile, Romualdez enumerated the 20 measures: (1) amendments to the BOT Law or Public-Private Partnership bill; (2) National Disease Prevention Management Authority; (3) Internet Transactions Act or E-Commerce Law; (4) Health Emergency Auxiliary Reinforcement Team Act, formerly Medical Reserve Corps; (5) Virology Institute of the Philippines; (6) Mandatory ROTC and National Service Training Program; (7) Revitalizing the Salt Industry; (8) Valuation Reform;

(9) e-Government and e-Governance;

(10) Ease of Paying Taxes Equally; (11) National Government

Spine Expressway network, the “Megabridges” program, and the North-South Commuter Railway project.

The President Marcos also mentioned the Bataan-Cavite Interlink bridge, the Panay-Guimaras Negros Island bridges, and the Samal IslandDavao City Connector Bridge as priorities of his administration.

Department of Budget and Management Secretary Amenah Pangandaman meanwhile said the MIF will enable the Marcos administration to expand its financing sources.

“This administration has 194 infrastructure projects amounting to P80 trillion. We could not afford to provide funding for all of these),”

Pangandaman said in a radio interview with dzRH.

With the establishment of MIF, the government will have another option to fund its infrastructure projects under the “Build, Better, More” program, Pangandaman said. Charles Dantes