Press Release
September 13, 2011

ANGARA TO DPWH: FOCUS ON STIMULATIVE SPENDING

Senator Edgardo J. Angara underscored the importance of stimulative spending in the face of imminent crisis, urging the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) to boost infrastructure development to stimulate growth and job creation.

At the DPWH 2012 budget hearing yesterday, Angara warned that underspending of public funds, and the consequent slowing down of infrastructure building in the country, will undermine the country's resilience against crisis.

"Twenty to thirty percent of every infrastructure project is spent on labor," said Angara, Vice Chair the Senate Committee on Finance. "That is why infrastructure spending is important--it generates jobs in the right places, particularly in rural areas."

The DPWH has committed to disburse more than P80 billion to help raise domestic growth it hopes to help raise in the next fiscal year.

"The DPWH has to focus its efforts on stimulative spending--that is, the people's money are spent on what will generate the most benefits and opportunities for the country," said Angara. "We have to concentrate on employment because this is our answer not only to poverty, but also to the onset of another financial crisis."

Angara warned that the Philippines, as is the rest of Asia, will not be impervious to the consequences of the debt crisis in the U.S. and Europe.

He stressed that stimulative spending will promote growth, income-generation and job creation that will cushion the effects of a crisis.

The DPWH's proposed budget is P125.5 billion, which is 13.48 percent higher than the current year's. The Senate Committee on Finance has yet to approve the DPWH budget.

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