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BUILD BUILD CERTIFICATION AGAINST

INTELLECTUAL FRAUD AND

BUILD PROGRAM DISHONESTY

An OECD Evaluation based on the

criteria of Efficiency I hereby declare, upon
my honor, that what I have
written in this FMA 3 are the
products of my own personal
intellect and I have made the
proper attribution of sources
and references. In the event
that it is established by
competent authorities that what
I have written in this FMA had
been obtained by me through
fraudulent use of ideas or
30 APRIL 2023
information belonging to other
persons, I will accept the
corresponding penalty or
sanction corresponding to such
Group 1 Output in PM241 dishonest conduct.

Editor: Mel Angelo T. Abracia

Coordinator: Ariel M. Abalos
Researchers and Sections Authored:
Ariel M. Abalos Photo from OECD Framework

Nina Majah Reah B. Afable

Mel Angelo T. Abracia
Alyanna C. Alcober
Rezel Joy N. Bonite

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 ARIEL M. ABALOS MEL ANGELO T. ABRACIA NINA MAJAH REAH B. AFABLE

ALYANNA C. ALCOBER REZEL JOY N. BONITE

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 Acronyms

BBB Build Build Build

PRRD President Rodrigo Roa Duterte
DPWH Department of Public Works and Highways
DOTr Department of Transportation
DBM Department of Budget Management
DOF Department of Finance
BCDA Bases Conversion Development Authority
DILG Department of Interior and Local Government
DOE Department of Energy
PSA Philippine Statistic Authority
MWSS Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System
NIA National Irrigation Authority
NPC National Power Corporation
NEDA National Economic Development Authority
INFRACOM Infrastructure Committee
ICC Investment Coordination Committee
OECD Organization for Economic Cooperation Development
GDP Gross Domestic Product
IFPs Infrastructure Flagship Projects
ROWA Right of Way
ESCAP Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific
RA 9184 Government Procurement Reform Act
SB N 1065 Local Build, Build, Build
LGU Local Government Unit
IRR Implementing Rules and Regulations
GAA General Appropriations Act
ODA Official Development Assistance
JICA Japan International Cooperation Agency
PPP Public- Private Partnership

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 BUILD BUILD BUILD PROGRAM OVERVIEW
By: Ariel M. Abalos

The Build Build Build program was a frontline infrastructure development project
during former President Rodrigo Roa Duterte’s (PRRD) administration in the fiscal year of
2016-2022. The program aimed to pilot “the Golden Era of Infrastructure” as it envisioned
spurring the Philippine economic dynamism and enhancing the quality of life of every
Filipino living in the cities and rural areas. The goal of the aforementioned program was to
accomplish it within the Duterte administration. It intended to construct and develop
airports, bridges, railways and expressways, farm-to-market roads, road widening,
telecommunication facilities, highways that will connect cities and provinces, and even
skyways and subways to alleviate the traffic congestion in the metropolitan area of Manila.
Through the Build Build Build program's economic indicator of infrastructure development,
it sought to create more employment for Filipinos and also to attract foreign investors in
the country (Patinio, 2022).

The leading government agencies that took the lead and collaborated in the
execution of the Build Build Build program are the Department of Public Works and
Highways (DPWH), Department of Transportation (DOTr), Department of Budget
Management (DBM), Department of Finance (DOF), and the Bases Conversion
Development Authority (BCDA), the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG),
Department of Energy (DOE), Philippine Statistic Authority (PSA), Metropolitan
Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS), National Irrigation Administration (NIA) &
NPC. The infrastructure project commenced in 2017 intending to complete the 119
projects in the transportation and communication sector with a preliminary budget
allocation of P5.08 trillion (News, 2022). Due to the economic turmoil and global crisis
caused by the pandemic, it has been partially determined that the program was derailed
and has been a “dismal failure” as one government official called the program. While
others claimed that the program has been successfully executed (24 Oras, 2019).

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 SCOPE AND METHODOLOGY
By: Nina Majah Reah B. Afable

Scope of the Research

The scope of the research is focused only on the efficiency of the Build Build Build
Program in terms of its funding, spending, and status of implementation.

Research Methodology
The research is based on facts and evidence stipulated on published articles such
as newspaper, online news site, government websites, NGO articles and the likes for the
Build Build Build Program of the government.

IFP Priority Projects Under BBB Program

The Infrastructure Flagship Projects (IFPs) is a sub-list of priority projects under the
BBB as identified by the NEDA Board Committee on Infrastructure and the Investment
Coordination Committee.
 75 projects identified in the IFPs’ list in 2017
 Increased to 112 as of May 2021
 The list includes some projects that were conceptualized and started in the past
administrations.

Public Spending on Infrastructure

BBB was initially projected to cost around PhP9T (2016 to 2022) and was expected
to account for 7.0% of the gross domestic product (GDP) by 2022.

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 Share of infrastructure disbursements to total GDP dropped to 4.8% in 2020 due to
quarantine restrictions and the realignment of the national budget to address the Covid-19
pandemic that resulted in the discontinuance and delays in the implementation of
infrastructure projects. In 2021, the government planned to disburse a total of PhP1.02T
for infrastructure, 79.2% (PhP807.5B) of which have already been disbursed from January
to September. Infrastructure disbursement for 2022 was projected at PhP1.18T or 5.3% of
GDP, lower than the original target of 7.0%. (SEPO, 2022, AAG-22-01)

IFPs FUNDING BY SOURCE

 54 projects worth Php2.6T are to be funded by the official development assistance

(ODA)
 23 projects worth PhP1.6T are to be funded via PPP
 25 projects worth Php186.2B are to be funded by the General Appropriations Act
(GAA)
 8 projects costing PhP268.2B are indicated to have mixed funding source while 2
projects are to be privately financed.

Appropriations/Disbursement of Funds Through DPWH And DoTr

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 The DPWH and DOTr showed a decreasing disbursement rates from 2017 to 2020
as reflected above. Disbursement rates at their lowest during year 2020 when Covid19
was its peak.

Status of Implementation

 15 projects completed as of January 3, 2022

 7 of which were part of the previous lists approved in 2017, 2019 and 2020, while
the other eight (completed projects in 2021 worth P94.64B) were part of the
updated list.
 77 IFPs projects worth ₱3.51T are ongoing, while 27 projects are in the pipeline
worth ₱1.09T.
 Considered pipeline projects are those that may start construction within the
present administration but will be part of the continuity pipeline of the succeeding
administrations.
 18 projects were completed within the administration’s term while eight (8)
projects will be delivered to completion in the second semester of 2022 and 86
projects in 2023 onwards

Cost and Benefit Analysis

COSTS BENEFITS
 Inconsistent list of priority projects.  Enhanced efficiency, transparency
 Project site issues (e.g. securing the and participation in governance
right of way, land acquisitions, etc.) through ICT infrastructure, 10
 Delays/problems in procurement and projects related to ICT
in bidding/negotiations.  Improved regional connectivity and
 Delayed fund releases. mobility through construction/
 Disruption in construction activities improvement of airports, seaports,
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 due to the pandemic. roads and bridges
 Low disbursement rates of the 2  Generated 6.5 million jobs in 2016-
major implementer - DPWH and 2020 period and tallied 1.6 million
DOTr. hires between March 2020 and the
end of 2021.
 Fueled economy especially post-
pandemic economic recovery.

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 ISSUES AND CHALLENGES
By: Mel Angelo T. Abracia

Build Build Build (BBB) Program is the priority project established under the Duterte
administration that has a goal to erect new infrastructures in order to boost and improve
the economic resiliency of the country by means of providing jobs to the Filipino people
and attracting investors to the country. Despite of all the coordination and planning of all
agencies involved in this program, there are still many challenges and issues the program
is encountering.

In March 2020, COVID 19 outbreak has spread though out the country which
resulted to closing the borders of the country and halt of movement of goods, products,
and even the people. BBB Program is one of the most affected due to two (2) reasons,
first is due to shifting of prioritization by the government to healthcare needs and second is
due to realignment of budget for COVID 19 response, this has resulted to delay and
discontinuing of the implementation of infrastructure projects under the program.

Aside from the COVID 19 outbreak that directly affected the program, other
challenges and issues encountered by the program, in terms of implementation of the
projects, are caused by problems in the project site such as land acquisition, right of way,
disruption of construction activities due to people or group against it, materials and
equipment deliverable, calamities, and procurement issues

In 2022, the national elections are scheduled in the month of May, the COMELEC
issued a public works ban notice from March 25 to May 8, 2022. The ban is implemented
in order to ensure that politicians will not use public resources for their campaigns which
covers disbursement and spending as well as construction activities. As the ban affects
also the construction activities, this has also affected the project implementation under the
BBB Program.

Lastly, as the BBB program is not mainly government funded, some of the projects
under the program are made possible due to PPP or Public-Private Partnership and
foreign investments in which major contributor is China. As private institutions and foreign

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investors are affected as well by the pandemic, funding coming from them is also a
struggle.

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 PROGRAM EVALUATION
By. Alyanna C. Alcober

In the OECD Framework for applying evaluation criteria, efficiency is defined as the
extent to which the intervention delivers results in an economic, timely way. To simply
put “how well are the resources being used?”.  In the context of the “Build, Build, Build”
Program, are the railways, airports, subway, roads, highways and new city contributed to
national development? are the identified projects completed? does the facility fulfil its
intended use?  Diving into these questions will lead to the analysis of the program's level
of efficiency. 

This section will cover three key areas for evaluation, namely: Economic Efficiency,
Operational efficiency and Timeliness as prescribed by the OECD.

Economic Efficiency. Infrastructure project is a capital-intensive venture. Upon

President Duterte’s assumption in 2016, he boosted the infrastructure spending by
doubling the budget to Php 4.7 trillion from the Php 182.2 billion budget (2012) by the
previous administration. It seems so that the heavy spending has impressed foreign
financing institutions like the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. Business
mirror (2019) reported that it also made the Philippines more attractive to foreign investors
as the country’s macroeconomic fundamentals remain solid and the economy continued to
grow at a robust pace of 6% to 7%, pre pandemic. However, the economic growth faltered
in 2020 due to the global health crisis, causing realignment of the national budget to
address said crisis, hence the delay of some infrastructure projects. Fitch ratings, a credit
rating agency that rates the viability of investment, kept an outlook on the BBB rating at
“negative” due to fiscal cost of the pandemic response. However, the debt watcher cited
that the country’s monetary policy response and strong infrastructure spending will help
boost economic recovery. In 2022, infrastructure disbursement was projected to be Php
1.18 trillion or 5.3% of GDP with 18 projects completed. As to the worth of its cost, in the
DPWH data, from 2016-2020, BBB generated 6.5 million jobs with 1.6 million workers
hired from March 2020 to the end quarter of 2021 and about 620,000 employments in
2022. It can be said that, the infrastructure program is economic efficient if gauged by the
number of jobs it created and its contribution to the overall gross domestic product.

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 Operations Efficiency. A collaborative engagement among oversight and
implementing agencies to accelerate the preparation, implementation and completion of
various IFPs under the BBB Program was promoted. DPWH as chief implementer with the
other implementing agencies: DoTR, BCDA, NPC, NIA, MWSS, PSA, DILG and DOE.
Meanwhile, NEDA as the overall program steering board. The agencies in charge of the
funding support, DBM and DOF. As to the funding, The mode of financing were, GAA,
ODA (JICA, China, S.Korea) and PPP. The project adopted diversified funding strategies
to be more flexible in the executions of operations and strategic utilization of PPP. The
involvement of PPP is an advantage in the operations efficiency to encourage private
sector capital, project affordability, delivery of value for money, consistent quality and
innovation.

Timeliness. In terms of completion, 18 projects have been completed as of

January 3, 2022, 77 are on-going construction and 27 are in the pipeline. Considered
pipeline projects are those that may start construction within the present administration but
will be a part of the continuity pipeline of the succeeding administration. With this number
we can calculate that only 13% of the 112 flagship projects that were proposed by Duterte
administration have been completed in the given period, a rather low percentage.
Generally, infrastructure projects are rigorous to plan and implement, considering the
resources and viability. NEDA board may disapprove projects for various reasons. In the
case of BBB the major cause of disruptions was the imposition of quarantine restrictions
and the public work ban due to the national election. Nevertheless, all 112 IFPs have been
accounted for and with the new administration continuing to prioritize infrastructure, there
is hope that delivery of these IFPs or even better will be realized.

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 RECOMMENDATION
By: Rezel Joy N. Bonite

Build, Build, Build (BBB) program, is a priority project of the Duterte Administration
that aims to change the Philippines into its “Golden Age of Infrastructure.” It was one of
the strategic plans of the government towards economic recovery due to the pandemic.
However, after President Dutertes’ administration, only 12 out of 119  infrastructure
flagship projects (IFP) were completed,(GMA News, 2022). His successor, President
BongBong Marcos promised to continue and complete the schedule of Infrastructure
projects under the previous administration. On his BBM vlog # 239 he said that if it will
benefit the people, he will continue the projects. He also introduced the Build Better More
(BBM) as the continuation of the Build, Build, Build Program.

To achieve the programs vision on providing livable, sustainable and resilient

communities without having huge infrastructure backlogs, the government must consider
the following:
 
a. Improvement of Absorptive Capacity and National Budget Plan 
Government agencies have to content and develop strategies to address the
structural issues that affect their absorptive capacity. These includes issues on right
of way (ROWA), poor project preparation, planning and budgeting, deficit in
technical capabilities, problems in bidding, contracting and procurement, project
design alteration and variation orders, difficulty in complying documentation
requirements (ESCAP, 2017). Also strengthen the ability to obligate allotments
received intended to infrastructure projects.

b. Sustaining the Build, Build, Build Program

It is recommended to review and reprioritize the BBB program under the
Marcos administration, taking into consideration priorities under the new normal
and that with high economic impact and value. The country needs to continue the
infrastructure program under the BBB to sustain economic recovery and build
greater resiliency (DBM-NBM No. 143).

 Transport Infrastructure (aligned to National Transport Policy)

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  Social Infrastructure. Construction, Rehabilitation and Renovation of educational
facilities for students and teachers in geographically isolated and disadvantages
and conflict-afflicted areas (GIDCAs)
 Energy. Implementation of natural gas, renewable energy and alternative sources
of energy supporting efforts on the transition to low carbon energy
 Health. Align with Philippine Health Facility Development Plan (PHFDP)
 ICT Infrastructure. (1) Encourage and capacitate the local government units in
promoting the use of ICT in their transactions to improve public services; (2)
Implementation of enhanced common towers policy, and; (3) Establishment of one-
stop shop in securing permits and clearances for digital infrastructure.

c. Strengthening of Convergence Efforts and Inter-Agency Collaboration

Implementing Agencies shall develop convergence programs and
collaboration among the different agencies to fully realize the benefits of
infrastructure projects. Strengthen the partnership with the private sector, utilizing
their expertise, as well as resources in project implementation, delivery and
management to augment government efforts and resources (DBM-NBM No. 143).

d. Climate Change Adaptation and Disaster Resilience

Consideration of green measures addressing climate change adaptation and
disaster resilience in the infrastructure designs and proposals (DBM-NBM No. 143).

e. Review of the Senate Bill # 1065 (Local Build, Build, Build)

An act accelerating public sector investments in local infrastructure. This
proposes an earmark the additional share of LGUs (Local Government Units) from
national taxes (Mandanas-Garcia ruling, GR No. 199802) that will be allocated for
local infrastructure projects and direct LGUs to take a greater role in infrastructure
development in their respective communities. This intervention is a national
strategy to help the local community to be more self-reliant in establishing local
investments that help boost local employment, tourism, agriculture, health, public
and safety and so on.
  
f. Revisit provisions of the Republic Act No. 9184 (Government Procurement
Reform Act)

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 Procurement process is the biggest bottleneck or hurdle in the budget
utilization of agencies, (Pangandaman, 2023). Procurement reforms include
Digitalization Provision on procurement processing and Establishment of Green
Public Procurement Program.  

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REFERENCES:

Patinio, F. (2022), ‘Build, Build, Build’ continues: Building more for better lives, Philippines
News Agency, https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1179572

News, G., & G. (2022, May 10). The new administration is to inherit 88 of 119 Build Build
Build projects. GMA News Online.
https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/topstories/nation/831186/the-new-
administration-to-inherit-88-of-119-build-build-build-projects/story/

Drilon: Duterte’s “Build, Build, Build” a dismal failure | The World Tonight. (2019,
November 12). YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tXidiElCRAM

24 Oras: Build, Build, Build program ng gobyerno, tinawag na palpak ni Sen. Drilon;
gobyerno, umalma. (2019, November 13). YouTube.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0beYriDIDDg

OECD, (2021). Applying Evaluation Criteria Thoughtfully.

https://doi.org/10.1787/543e84ed-en 

Press Releases. (2022, January 7). PIA.

https://pia.gov.ph/press-releases/2022/01/07/bbb-chief-implementer-reports-
development-of-flagship-projects

Press Releases. (2022b, February 23). PIA.

https://pia.gov.ph/press-releases/2022/02/23/fitch-affirms-philippines-bbb-
investment-grade-rating

Dofweb. (2019, May 7). YEARENDER DOF ensures funding for ‘Build, Build, Build’
projects - Department of Finance. Department of Finance.
https://www.dof.gov.ph/yearender-dof-ensures-funding-for-build-build-build-
projects/

Villar, M. B. (2019, December 30). Strong economic growth is proof of BBB success |
Manny B. Villar. BusinessMirror. https://businessmirror.com.ph/2019/12/31/strong-
economic-growth-is-proof-of-bbb-success/

Philippine Daily Inquirer.(2020, July 25). Unlocking growth through infrastructure.

Retrieved April 2023 from:
https://legacy.senate.gov.ph/publications/SEPO/SEPO_AAG%20on
%20Infrastructure%20Flagship%20Projects_22Feb2022.pdf

SEPO, (2022, January).Update on the Flagship Projects of the Build, Build, Build Program
at a Glance, Retrieved April 2023 from
https://legacy.senate.gov.ph/publications/SEPO/SEPO_AAG%20on
%20Infrastructure%20Flagship%20Projects_22Feb2022.pdf

Congressional Policy and Budget Research Department, “The Build! Build! Build!
Program”, CPBRD Facts in Figures No. 07, March 2019. Retrieved April 25, 2023

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 from: https://cpbrd.congress.gov.ph/images/PDF%20Attachments/Facts%20in
%20Figures/FF2020_-14_BBB.pdf

Congressional Policy and Budget Research Department.(2020, July), The New Build!
Build! Build! (BBB) Program: Risks, Challenges and Policy Options. Retrieved April
26, 2023, from https://cpbrd.congress.gov.ph/images/PDF%20Attachments/CPBRD
%20Notes/CN2020-02_BBB_Revised.pdf

GMA News.( 2022, April 27). DPWH: 12 out of 119 Build, Build, Build projects completed.
Retrieved April 27, 2023,
from https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/money/economy/829909/dpwh-12-out-of-
119-build-build-build-projects completed/story/#:~:text=DPWH%3A%2012%20out
%20of%20119,projects%20completed%20%7C%20GMA%20News%20Online 

National Budget Memorandum No 143 dated April 28, 2022, “Budget Priorities Framework
for the Preparation of the FY 2023 Agency Proposals under Tier 2. Retrieved from
https://www.dbm.gov.ph/wp-content/uploads/Issuances/2022/National-Budget-
Memorandum/NATIONAL-BUDGET-MEMORANDUM-NO-143-DATED-APRIL-28-
2022.pdf

BBM VLOG #239: Build Better More Program | Bongbong Marcos. Retrieved April
26,2023 from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hCu8A3cd138

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