President Rodrigo Duterte criticized Senator Franklin Drilon and denied that his ‘Build, Build, Build’ program was a failure.

In an exclusive interview with GMA News, President Duterte said that people can see the progress of BBB if they travel around the country.

Duterte also said that the Senate Minority Leader doesn’t know how to count.

“You can see it for yourself, ilang airport? Ngayon when you travel around, look at Luzon….Because of statements that are out of tune, hindi mo pa pinagawa sinasabing may corruption diyan, e di wag na lang,” said Duterte.

“He does not really know how to count. If it’s a statement just in derision, we can’t do anything about that, that’s free. I said, well, people judge best when they condemn,” he added.

Drilon criticized ‘Build, Build, Build’ earlier pointing out that only nine of the 75 flagship projects of the Duterte administration have started its construction.

“We have only two years and a half years left of this administration, I don’t think any substantial progress in so far as the program is concerned will be achieved as I would repeat the execution is simply dismal,” the senator told reporters.

To defend the current administration, Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo said that there was no infrastructure made during the administration of former President Benigno Aquino III, a political ally of Sen. Drilon.

Aside from criticizing BBB, Drilon also wanted to investigate the “extravagant” spending of the government for the 2019 Southeast Asian Games, mentioning why the admin spent P50-M for a single piece of cauldron that only going to be used once.

Mayor Isko Moreno revealed the story behind the viral video taken at Taft Avenue in Manila showing a man who hanged himself to the window of a jeepney and reaching someone inside.

In a Facebook live, Moreno said that he watched the viral video himself after the netizens informed him and showed concern over the peace and order of Manila City.

However, Moreno said that the netizens should not worry because the reason of the commotion is because of “personal” reasons.

To explain the real story behind the video Moreno presented the man who was caught in the video and explained the cause of the commotion.

According to ‘Jomar’, the man who was seen hanging in the jeepney said that they’re chasing a man because the wife of his companion ‘Edison’ was touched by the latter without her permission.

The suspect fled by riding the said jeepney, however, Jomar and Edison caught him before the vehicle leaves the area.

“Magkaibigan po kasi kami kaya nagtulungan na kami, kahit saan po nagtutulungan kami,” Jomar told Mayor Isko Moreno.

They said that they’re only defending their loved ones from the suspect and they don’t want to make a commotion in the middle of the streets of Taft.

Manila Police District also confirmed that the story of Edison and Jomar was confirmed by the CCTV cameras.

However, they said that the wife of Edison already refused to file a case against the suspect after they agreed into a settlement.

“Maliwanag na hindi ito nakawan, hindi ito snatching, hindi to holdaping, ito ay isang personal na alitan lamang,” Moreno said.

Meanwhile, Moreno asked Edison and Jomar not to do the same thing again and asked for the police help next time.

“Wag niyong ilalagay sa kamay ninyo ang batas, minsan bugso yan ng damdamin… malapit kayo sa istasyon ng pulis, sumanguni kayo sa kapulisan,” Moreno said.

“Sana muli ninyong pagkatiwalaan ang pulis o pamahalaan na magbibigay ng hustisya kapag kayo’y naagrabyado,” he added.

Moreno said that it’s fortunate that Jomar and Edison presented himself to the authorities because people might think that they’re lawbreakers.

“Pasamat kami sayo dahil ikaw ay humarap dito, atleast ganitong paraan man lang mapapanatag natin ang kalooban ng taumbayan na walang ibang masamang insidente about the video,” he said.

Senator Franklin Drilon questioned the government why they spent P50-M on a ‘cauldron’ that would be used for the 2019 Southeast Asian (SEA) Games.

During the deliberation of the proposed 2020 budget of the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) on Monday, Drilon said that the cost of the SEA Games cauldron is already equivalent to 50 classrooms.

According to him, the cauldron would only be used once that’s why he’s questioning the priorities of the government.

“A P50-million kaldero. Do you realize that at P1 million per classroom this can construct 50 classrooms? In other words, we did away with 50 classrooms in exchange for one kaldero, is this a correct conclusion?” Drilon said.

“Is that reasonable? Is that a correct prioritization? Each classroom will cost P1 million and just for the kaldero, which should be used only once, we will spend P50 million,” he added.

Meanwhile, Senator Angara defended the decision to build the cauldron, saying that it was designed by Francisco Mañosa, one of the most influential Filipino architects of the 20th century who also designed The Coconut Palace and EDSA shrine.

“Construction of SEA Games stadium cauldron design and installation P32 million,” Angara said.

Angara also pointed out that the government wanted to impress the people with its SEA Games Hosting.

“I think what the government was really envisioning was to do an impressive hosting of the games and showcase the Philippine ingenuity by using Philippine creative designers and performers,” Angara said.

“I think this is what other Southeast Asian countries have also done when it was their turn to host,” he added.

However, Drilon is not convinced of Angara’s explanation.

“I think it is heart of hearts. The good sponsor, with good intention as he is, finds difficulty justifying a P50-million kaldero which is equivalent to 50 [classrooms],” Drilon said.

According to Drilon, he’s planning to call a Senate probe to investigate the “extravagant” expenses of the government for SEA Games.

“Kailangang suportahan natin sila so they can compete and bring honor to our country. But it doesn’t mean that we will not question these expenses,” Drilon said.

The Department of Transportation (DOTr) wrote an open letter to Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon after the latter called the ‘Build, Build, Build’ (BBB) program of the Duterte administration as a ‘dismal failure’.

On a lengthy post, DOTr gave an update to Senator Drilon to prove that the BBB is not going to be a failure.

They listed the current situation of some key projects of the Duterte administration, saying that they already “raised the standards” when it comes to trying to complete the said projects and even ready to work 24/7 just to do the job more quickly.

These are the updates gave by DOTR to Senator Drilon:

Aviation and Airports

In the aviation and airports sector alone, the DOTr and its attached agencies have completed 64 airport projects under the Duterte administration, with 133 more ongoing.

Completed projects include the Bohol-Panglao International Airport, which began feasibility study in 2000, but construction only started in June 2015 with 48% slippage upon transition to the current administration. It was inaugurated in November 2018.

Construction of the new terminal of the Mactan-Cebu International Airport was delayed for 11 months in 2016. It was inaugurated in 2017 and is now fully operational.

The Sangley Airport in Cavite, which already had initial construction works last year, underwent 24/7 construction this year and had its operational dry run this October.

The Lal-Lo International Airport, inaugurated in March 2018, now has an upgraded runway capable of handling bigger aircraft. It received its first international commercial flight in 2018.

The Tacloban Airport’s expanded passenger terminal building was inaugurated in March 2018. Rehabilitation works for the Ormoc Airport have been completed in July 2019, after the airport was severely damaged by Super Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) back in 2013.

The Puerto Princesa International Airport’s new passenger terminal building was completed in May 2017. The San Vicente Airport, also in Palawan, was inaugurated in May 2018, and it can now accommodate light aircraft and chartered flights.

Domestic airports also underwent improvements. These include the gateways in Camiguin, Virac, and Tuguegarao.

Meanwhile, ongoing airport projects include the Bicol International Airport which was delayed for 11 years and is now more than halfway complete; the second passenger terminal building of the Clark International Airport; the Davao International Airport; Bukidnon Airport; Surigao Airport; and Kalibo Airport.

Another key aviation project is the Communications, Navigation, Surveillance/Air Traffic Management (CNS/ATM). The implementation of this project was 10 years delayed. Now, the system is fully operational, bringing the erstwhile total of 3 radars to currently 13 and ensuring 100% coverage of Philippine airspace for aviation safety.

Railways

For railways, we have six projects with ongoing construction and one undergoing rehabilitation.

The country’s first underground railway system, the Metro Manila Subway, started works in February 2019, and is slated to start site preparation and earthworks in December 2019.

The much-delayed MRT-7, whose Concession Agreement was signed in 2008 but had nearly zero movement until 2016, is now 50% complete.

Approved by the NEDA Board in 2007 and stalled since 2009, the Common Station is now undergoing 24/7 construction and 50% complete.

The LRT-1 Cavite Extension, delayed for 19 years, finally started full-blast construction this year.

The LRT-2 East Extension project is now in the final stages of construction and is set for completion by 2020.

The MRT-3, battered from years of poor and erratic maintenance, is now undergoing comprehensive rehabilitation with Sumitomo-Mitsubishi Heavy Industries of Japan.

PNR Clark Phase 1 is in full-blast construction and on its way to partial completion by 2021.

PNR Clark Phase 2, PNR Calamba, PNR Bicol, Subic-Clark Railway, and the Mindanao Railway are all in the pipeline, and are now undergoing various stages of procurement and pre-construction works.

Road Transport

Under the road sector, we opened the country’s first ‘landport,’ the Parañaque Integrated Terminal Exchange (PITX), a project that aims to regulate city bus flow and help ease metro traffic. Daily ridership has increased from 10,000 passengers in the fourth quarter of 2018 to 80,000 passengers by the third quarter of 2019. To date, the PITX has served a more than 14 million passengers.

Maritime

Across the archipelago, seaports are being upgraded and rehabilitated to better serve the public. Currently, the DOTr has completed 243 commercial and social/tourism seaport projects, while 136 are ongoing.

Notable port projects include the construction of the country’s biggest Passenger Terminal Building at the Port of Cagayan de Oro, and the rehabilitation of Opol Port in Misamis Oriental, Sasa Port in Davao, Butuan Port in Agusan Del Norte, Tubigon Port in Bohol, Limasawa Port in Southern Leyte, and General Santos (Makar Wharf).

The country’s first barge terminal, the Cavite Gateway Terminal, which aims to reduce truck traffic on major roads and offer a cost-effective access to goods between Manila and Cavite through the waterways, had been built.

On maritime safety, as of November 2019, we have 560 out of 600 lighthouses operational nationwide.

Manila Mayor Isko Moreno is not yet done with the vandals who painted several infrastructures around his city.

On Monday, Moreno cleaned one of the vandals itself using paint thinner. However, even the hardest wipe of the Mayor didn’t remove a bit of the vandalism.

“Tignan niyo kung gaano kahirap, ito ang gusto niyo sa gobyerno? Eto ang gusto niyong pagkaabalahan namin, imbes na ang pagkaabalahan namin ay kung paano namin kayo bibigyan ng bahay, paano namin kayo bibigyan ng trabaho, paano namin kayo bibigyan ng gamot, eto ba ang gusto niyong gawin?” Moreno said.

It seems that the Mayor is in a bad mood while trying to remove the said paintings, asking the people behind the vandals if they’re “happy” of what they have done.

According to him, instead of using the money to buy medicine, to educate people and to build houses, they’re forced to spend the tax of the Manilenyos to clean the vandalism.

He also criticized the activist groups who insisted that they’re only expressing their beliefs in the form of “art”.

“Yung may sakit ang ipapainom ko sa kanila ‘yung ‘art’ niyo? Pagagamot ko sa kanila ‘art’ niyo? Ibibili ko ng pako, semento para maitayo yung bahay ay ipambubura ko lang nito?” Moreno said.

“Masaya kayo diba? Art to eh, this is your art,” he added.

Moreno said that he would not waste his time having a dialog with the activist groups, saying that he needs to spend his time in something more important.

“What for? Para ano? Para ubusin ko ang oras imbes na bigyan ko ng atensiyon yung mahahalagang bagay na kakailanganin ng taong bayan? Pinakialaman ko ba sila sa karapatan nila? Hindi, malaya kayo sa Maynila, pero wala kayong karapatan babuyin kami,” said Moreno when asked if they’re going to have a meeting with activist groups.

The Mayor also criticized the professor for insisting that painting a wall to express their political beliefs is a form of art.

After that, Moreno urged the Filipinos not to believe the activist groups because they’re only using the unfortunate people to push their political goals.

“Mahihirap nating mga kababayan, binobola nila kayo, ginagamit lang [nila] kayo,” he said.

He then now realized why Singapore is very strict when it comes to enforcing the law.

“Kaya hindi ako magtataka, bakit sa Singapore kahit chewing gum pinagbabawal itapon sa kalye, mahirap pala talagang gawin,” he remarked.

On November 12, Mayor Isko Moreno expressed his disappointment over the ‘vandalism’ around Lagusnilad underpass which one of the infrastructures that renovated by his administration.

Panday Sining claimed the responsibility and apologized, however, they insisted that what they did is a form of art.

In an interview, Panday Sining said that they’re going to continue their ‘art protest’.

Senate President Vicente Sotto III told Vice President Leni Robredo to stop broadcasting her every moves as the co-chair of the Inter-Agency Committee on Illegal Drugs (ICAD).

In a radio interview, Sotto said that if he’s an adviser of the Vice President, he would tell the latter to stop ‘media binge’ because he believes that hiding Robredo’s plans is better than announcing it to the press.

“Ang pinakamaganda, tigilan mo muna ang media media kasi nate-telegraph ang strategy. Dapat diyan, submarine approach. Kailangan under the radar ang tira… and then later on, lilitaw ang accomplishment. Hindi yung lilitaw agad ang mga plano at strategy baka walang marating,” Sotto said.

“Wag mo sasabihin sa media. (Kung) intelligence (information) bakit ka nagmemedia? Bakit mo pinamemedia ang meeting? Hindi dapat,” he added.

He then suggested to the Vice President to study her current position.

“Siguro mas maganda ang ginawa ni Vice President Robredo pag-aralang mabuti at i-research mabuti ang iba’t ibang kilos ng agencies. Anu-ano ang mga policy nila. I-research munang mabuti, pag-aralang mabuti ang trabaho,” he said.

The Senate President made the following remarks after PDEA Chief Aaron Aquino announced that Robredo is asking for the list of high-value targets.

“Meron atang hinihingi na lists. One example ‘yung list ng high-value targets. So I think, nag-iisip naman ako bakit kailangan niya in the first place. Wala naman sa mandates namin ‘yun, na kailangan kumuha ng listahan ng high-value targets,” he said in a phone interview.

Aquino said that they’re only going to share the list in a closed-door meeting.

“Sa pinaka simpleng explanation – kapag binigay namin ang listahan kay VP Robredo hindi na namin alam kung sino-sino ang magkakaroon ng access sa listahan,” Aquino said.

The PDEA chief said that even himself doesn’t have any copy of the list of high-value targets.

As a response, Robredo said that she made the request in private and didn’t announce it publicly.

“Hindi nga namin ini-announce sa media na humihingi kami nito. Nasa private communication ito, copy furnished iyong mga law enforcement agencies para magkaroon kami ng maayos na database. Imbes na sagutin tayo, sagutin iyong ating sulat, sumagot sa media,” Robredo said.

The Manila City Government spent millions of pesos to fund its Nutribun program for malnourished kindergarten and grade one public school students.

On a Facebook post, Mayor Isko Moreno announced that they’re going to spend P173,000,000 to fund the said feeding program.

Nutribun feeding is part of the social amelioration program of the City Government of Manila.

Reviving the Nutribun program is one of the promises of Mayor Moreno, saying that he believes in its effectiveness to fight malnutrition.

Moreno who lived in the slums of Tondo said on his past speeches that he wanted to implement the said program because he also experienced to feel hunger while studying at school.

“Marami sa mga mag-aaral natin na pumapasok sa paaralan na walang laman ang tiyan at gutom, dala na rin siguro ng hirap ng buhay. Alam ko po ang pakiramdam na iyon sapagkat isa rin po ako sa mga batang pumapasok na walang laman ang tiyan,” he said.

“Kaya po ang pangarap natin sa lungsod ng Maynila ay maibalik ang nutribun at gatas sa loob ng paaralan,” he added.

Nutribun became popular and successful in the 1970s during the administration of former President Ferdinand Marcos.

Aside from funding the nutribun program, Moreno also announced that they’re going to spend 1.93-B for senior citizens’ allowance, P145-M for senior citizens’ birthday gift, 120-M for PWD allowance, P120-M for solo parent allowance, P29.6-M for public school and UDM Grade 12 Student allowance and P136-M for PLM and UDM College Student allowance.

The City Government of Manila allocated the biggest part of its total budget to social amelioration.

Senator minority leader Franklin Drilon questioned how the government would maintain the newly-built Clark Sports Complex in Tarlac after the Southeast Asian Games (SEA).

Last Thursday, Drilon questioned the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) during their budget hearing on how they would get money to prevent Clark Sports Complex from facing the same fate with other world-class stadiums built by other countries and now deteriorating.

Drilon said that he wanted to see if the government has a ‘clear’ plan on how they would bring back the money they used to build the said infrastructure or even just maintain it yearly.

According to Senator Christopher “Bong” Go, the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) is planning to make the sports complex rentable so they could get some funds to maintain it.

They’re also planning to make Clark Sports complex as the national training center of the country.

However, Senator Drilon is not convinced that many people are interested in renting the facilities of the Clark Sports Complex.

“Who would want to rent an athletic stadium?” Drilon said.

Go said that the Complex could be used to hold concerts and events which is not related to sports.

However, Drilon still expressed concerns over the funds needed to maintain the complex.

“I think this has not been thought out because this will be a burden on the budget, I’m sorry…I cannot believe that we can generate enough funds to maintain this and what will happen because of a lack of funds to maintain? These facilities will deteriorate over time, so we have sunk in 9.5 billion for this activity,” he said.

He then mentioned several countries built a stadium for a big sports event, but now being neglected because of a lack of budget to maintain it.

“The BCDA could have learned from these experiences come out with a plan in order that these facilities do not go to waste,” Drilon said.

The government spent P9.5-B to build the Clark Sports complex and it would be used as the venue for the Southeast Asian Games (SEA).

According to some reports, the government needs 150-200-M pesos yearly to maintain it.

A representative from Panday Sining said that they’re going to continue their ‘art protest’ around the country and insisted that what they’re doing is not vandalism, but an act of expressing their beliefs.

In an interview with One News, Panday Sining Rep. Francis Joven explained that they’re only exercising their freedom by doing graffiti.

“Yung mismong form ng pagsusulat sa pader… art yun, kasi kapag wala ka ng masyadong parang space to express lalo na’t ang freedom of expression ay very relative sa political situation, kailangan siyang gawin,” Joven said.

Joven also pointed out the difference between vandalism and what they’re doing.

“Ang vandalism ay paninira ng isang property, kahit tignan natin sa Supreme Court ganyan ang sinabi nila, hindi siya form of vandalism…” he said.

Despite the warning of Mayor Isko Moreno after their act in Lagusnilad underpass, Joven said that they’re still going to continue painting random walls.

“Gagawin din ulit namin, may inihahanda kaming mga panibago. Ang ginagawa namin sa mga kalaban na sina Duterte, ine-expose. Ang batayan namin doon ay ang mga nagiging dating sa mga estudyante at manggagawang dumadaan,” said Joven.

According to him, they decided to make more artwork despite the criticisms they received from the netizens.

“Abangan niyo sa mga susunod na araw kung saan ninyo gagawin,” he said.

However, they said that they’re going to avoid painting the infrastructures in Manila City including the Lagusnilad underpass.

He also has a message to the netizens who criticized them.

“Kaya po namin ito ginagawa dahil pakunti ng pakunti ‘yung space para sa expression, yung ipinaglaban ng mga tao noong binagsak si Marcos,” he said.

On November 12, Mayor Isko Moreno expressed his disappointment over the ‘vandalism’ around Lagusnilad underpass which one of the infrastructures that renovated by his administration.

Panday Sining claimed the responsibility and apologized, however, they insisted that what they did is a form of art.

On his weekly capital report, Moreno again criticized ‘Panday Sining’ saying that the people doesn’t like what they’re doing.

“Gusto niyo ng real talk? Hindi kayo dadami dahil kinamumuhian kayo ng mga tao, Maaliwalas na para gamitin (ang underpass) ng mga ordinaryong taong ‘sabi ninyo ay ipinaglalaban ninyo. ‘Una, sino ba ang humihingi ng tulong para ipaglaban niyo sila? You volunteered yourself para ‘ipaglaban daw sila’,” Moreno said.