Rural development, especially the transportation system, will be the central focus of her administration if she is chosen president in May 2022, Vice President Maria Leni Robredo said last week during her visit to Catanduanes.
“Napakarami kong magagawa sa Bicol region kasi wala pang naging presidenteng Bikolano,” she told local media in a brief interview, citing numerous expressways to northern Philippines compared to just one leading to Bicol.
Robredo said first priority will be given to the highway to Bicol, referring to the South Luzon Expressway, and then the railroad system which she said would help local farmers in bringing their products to the market by way of lower transport costs.
She added that her administration would revisit the proposal to build a bridge from San Andres, Catanduanes across the Maqueda channel towards Caramoan, Camarines Sur.
Aside from preventing the isolation of the island province during typhoons, the span would spur rural development as it would provide greater access to the people and the island’s number one product which is abaca fiber, the vice president remarked.
For a province frequently visited by typhoons, resilient infrastructure should also be designed and built, she added.
In an interview with a local radio station, VP Robredo highlighted the need for the national government to decentralize its services and development efforts so that adequate basic and social services would be within reach of Filipinos.
Through this, she noted, workers need not go to the National Capital Region to look for jobs, thereby reducing the social costs in favor of their families.
This would also solve the longstanding problem of heavy traffic in Metro Manila, where the government’s development projects are concentrated
She likewise called for the enhancement of provincial hospitals and other healthcare providers through necessary equipment and manpower so that patients need not be brought to Manila for treatment.