Philippine government infrastructure developments will have higher chances of completion after a three-year rolling fund program is reintroduced in the next fiscal year, according to the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA).
Investment targets for public infrastructure are likely to meet with greater success now that NEDA’s Infrastructure Committee (Infracom) approved the reinstitution of the Three-Year Rolling Infrastructure Program or TRIP in the national budget starting 2017.
TRIP promotes the optimal use of public resources for infrastructure development by assuring fund allocation for three years for well-developed and readily implementable projects, NEDA said in a statement.
The program is a modification of the Comprehensive and Integrated Infrastructure Program (CIIP), which is a consolidated list of all infrastructure programs of the government. However, TRIP puts more emphasis on immediate priorities to be undertaken in three-year periods, NEDA explained.
“The multi-year rolling program for infrastructure will assure us that once an infrastructure program has been planned, and it is rolled out, it is going to continue to receive funding from the government. This is one of our efforts to synchronize and tighten the link between the programming and budgeting functions of the government for infrastructure projects and programs,” Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Emmanuel F. Esguerra said.
In previous years, agencies have been submitting projects for inclusion in the Public Investment Program and the CIIP. In October 2014, NEDA-Infracom approved the TRIP’s reinstitution in the National Expenditure Plan (NEP) process. TRIP will be incorporated in the budget process for the fiscal year 2017.
“The TRIP will also ensure that the hard budget ceilings of government agencies are optimized and utilized in funding infrastructure programs that are responsive to the priorities and strategies in the Philippine Development Plan. More importantly, it will see to it that the government’s target for increased investment in public infrastructure is met,” Esguerra stated.
Public infrastructure spending is targeted to reach 5% of GDP in 2016 from 2% in 2012.
Thus, through TRIP, NEDA said the government can address infrastructure gaps including the completion of pending projects from previous years. Some of these stalled projects include 4,710 kilometers of national roads for paving, 366,014 units of socialized housing for construction, and 1.2 million hectares of land for irrigation.
Once the program is implemented, government agencies will submit their respective three-year infrastructure programs for review and compilation by NEDA. The consolidated TRIP will then be presented to the NEDA-Infracom for confirmation or approval.
The approved consolidated TRIP will be submitted to the Department of Budget and Management, which will determine project costs and budget ceilings.
The TRIP, to be updated annually, will be the basis for the list of programs, activities, and projects under the NEP.
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