By Ferdinand Patinio/Philippine News Agency
The “Build, Build, Build (BBB)” program of the government has provided close to 1.5 million jobs to Filipinos despite the restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) said on Friday.
Citing the latest data from the agency, Secretary Mark Villar said the projects under the BBB prompted the hiring of a total of 1,482,119 workers nationwide from March 2020 to August 2021.
“As announced before, BBB will be one (1) of our key drivers towards economic recovery. We are glad that indeed infrastructure projects across the country were able to provide the much-needed livelihood opportunities, more so during this pandemic period,” he said in a statement.
Of the over 1.4 million employment opportunities, a total of 24,560 jobs were generated by projects under the DPWH Unified Project Management Office (UPMO) and 70,661 through the DPWH National Capital Region.
Meanwhile, the agency has employed 72,168 in the Cordillera Administrative Region; 65,716 in the Ilocos Region; 65,529 in Cagayan Valley; 125,330 in Central Luzon; 74,252 in Calabarzon, 181,501 in Mimaropa; and 213,089 in Bicol.
In three regions of the Visayas, DPWH projects were able to create a total of 250,102 jobs which is composed of 120,749 in Western Visayas; 73,148 in Central Visayas; and 56,205 in Eastern Visayas.
In Mindanao, a total of 345,887 jobs were generated from the 81,188 in the Zamboanga Peninsula; 97,466 in Northern Mindanao; 106,027 in Davao Region; 38,930 in Soccsksargen; and 22,276 in Caraga.
Villar is anticipating that the number of those that were provided jobs will increase by year-end, as there are still a lot of vital scheduled projects.
The BBB programs include the building of roads, bridges, and other public infrastructure to spur economic development. (PNA)-rir
