Newly appointed National Development Authority (NEDA) Director General Ernesto Pernia said that politics and those guided by expediency should no longer influence the country’s economic affairs to bolster continued growth.
“We should remove political expediency considerations in projects. Politics should not be confused with economics and I am going to speed up the approval process at the NEDA level”, Pernia, a Boholano from Tagbilaran City, said.
In an exclusive interview on DYRD “Inyong Alagad” this morning, Monday, May 30, 2016, Pernia, who was once the Lead Economist of the Economics and Research Department of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) denounced politicians meddling with proposed projects, saying that “we should remove political expediency considerations in projects. That’s what I am trying to do”.
However, Pernia stressed that as NEDA chief and at the same time a Boholano “I can’t be favorably bias to Bohol.This is not goodâ€.
“Let’s look at the good projects, especially projects that are really needed and those that are ripe for implementation”, he added.
Pernia was referring to the proposed extension of the New Bohol Airport runway by 500 meters and the expansion of the terminal building in anticipation of the surge of visitors to Bohol.
Projects that are still in the drawing boards include the proposed “Friendship Bridge” connecting Bohol to Cebu, the estimated P4.7 billion dam in Danao, Bohol and the bridge from Ubay to Leyte.
A 3rd bridge spanning Tagbilaran and Panglao will also be evaluated for its economic and social viability and its impact on the environment, among other criteria. (Chito M. Visarra)