All eyes were on Batasang Pambansa today as the President of the Philippines gave his second State of the Nation Address (SONA) at the House of Representatives.
One of the first and biggest infrastructure projects President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. mentioned during SONA 2023 was the Luzon South Expressway Network (LSEN) Program. This is an already-existing 1,200km road network project that seeks to connect the regions of Ilocos and Bicol, effectively reducing travel time between the two areas from 20 hours to just nine.
The President, however, didn’t specify the current progress rate for this project, nor did he give an updated timeline for its completion.
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Another undertaking Marcos Jr. mentioned was the Mega Bridge Program, a project totaling 12 bridges and 90km. Some of the bridges that are part of this project were already in the works before the current administration took over. Those mentioned during this year’s SONA include the Panay-Guimaras-Negros Island Bridges, the Bataan-Cavite Interlink Bridge, and the Samal Island-Davao City Connector Bridge.
As with the LSEN Program, though, Marcos Jr. also didn’t give any specific figures regarding the Mega Bridge Program. But one key takeaway from the President’s SONA regarding all this is that infrastructure spending will remain at 5-6% of the country’s GDP, as the government continues to put emphasis on infrastructure development as an economic driver.
