Importance of Infrastructure Development to the Philippines and a Comprehensive Review on the Progress of The Build Better More Infrastructure Agenda

Azriel John Ang

2200552, Juris Doctor 1

Abstract
The “Build Better More” infrastructure agenda is a new and improved framework and continuation of President Duterte’s “Build Build Build” Program. Under the enhanced infrastructure program, it includes strategic directions for the construction of more Farm-to-Market roads (FMR) to support the agricultural sector of the Philippines with the end goal of improving food security throughout the country. Aside from this, the program also includes major projects such as the Samal Island-Davao City Bridge Project which is reported to be worth 23.04 billion pesos seeking to improve road congestion and transportation efficiency. The key objectives of the study is (1) to understand the importance of infrastructure development in the Philippines, and more specifically to Negros Occidental, (2) to identify the mandates of the current implemented laws about infrastructure in the Philippines along with the key provisions provided by the 1987 Constitution with regards to the “Build Better More” infrastructure agenda, and (3) to assess the effectiveness of the implementation of the current laws related to President Marcos’s infrastructure agenda so that the program may achieve or enhance its perceived targets based on the data provided by the Philippine Statistics Authority. The study will involve the collection of relevant laws and provisions related to the infrastructure program and the compilation of relevant data prepared by the Philippine Statistics Authority to achieve the objectives. The results and findings will be used by the researcher to suggest improvements on the implementation of the laws to better serve the people.

It is important to study the role of infrastructure in the development of a country because it creates significant impacts on the social autonomy of the population. Since infrastructure is interconnected with the other departments of the government, improving on its efficiency will also improve the present systems of the country to provide people with a better quality of life.

I. Introduction
During the Duterte administration, the Philippine government shifted its direction to prioritize the development of infrastructure in the country. As a result, an increased budget was allocated for this purpose to stimulate the economy and create more job opportunities for Filipinos, exemplified through the administration’s flagship program, “Build Build Build”. The Senate has also passed several amendments to the Foreign Investment Act of 1991, incentivising more foreign firms to invest in the Philippines. As a result, this increased domestic spending and international investments that support the development of Philippine infrastructure.

After Ferdinand Marcos Jr. was elected as president of the Philippines, Duterte’s “Build Build Build” program was strengthened into a much more effective program called the “Build Better More” infrastructure agenda. According to Patinio (2022), the Department of Public Works and Highways will construct a more effective Farm to Market (FMR) framework which includes the budget allocation of around 7 billion pesos for the construction of roads and irrigation systems to reinforce the agricultural sector and boost the number of sustainable projects that directly address the country’s food security problems (Patinio, 2022). Another benefit that the program aims to bring to the country is to decrease traffic congestion and improve the current state of public transportation in the country. One of the major projects the current administration is focussing on is the construction of the Samal Island-Davao City Bridge which is targeted to serve over 20,000 vehicles per day (Patinio, 2022).

Aside from the above mentioned benefits of the “Build Better More” infrastructure agenda, there will also be an increasing number of construction of evacuation centers and flood management programs to protect the country from natural disasters. During the pandemic, from April 2020 to September 2022, the Department of Public Works and Highways have focussed on building quarantine facilities, modular hospitals, and clean dormitories to promote hygiene and assist the burdens of the citizens (Patinio, 2022). It was reported that the government has already completed the construction of these public structures before the month of December 2022. Under this agenda, there is also the annual evaluation of public structures in order to ensure the safety of the people while utilizing these infrastructures. For better flood management in the country, key projects that will be prioritized are the Pasig to Marikina River Channel and Metro Manila Flood Management Project to effectively mitigate disasters (Patinio, 2022). Currently, several expressways and highways are being constructed all around the country and among these high impact projects are located in Mindanao such as the Samar Pacific Coastal Road, the Marawi City Recovery and Rehabilitation projects, and the Emergency Assistance programs for Marawi City (Patinio, 2022).

A study conducted by Llanto (2016) states that the Philippines encounters a major challenge in connectivity and inter-island collaboration due to the country’s Archipelagic nature. This burdens it to strengthen its economic growth and expand its opportunities for business, trades, and investments. The author concludes that private and public relationships are some of the factors that continue to fill in the gaps of developing infrastructure in the country (Llanto, 2016). Since the implementation of Duterte’s “Build Build Build” program, the country continues to see some improvement in its status with regards to infrastructure, but there are still a lot of improvements that can be done to effectively implement these policies in terms of coordination and enforcement of the laws. With respect to the “Build Better More” infrastructure agenda, the researcher challenges its effectiveness and level of implementation to determine whether or not the Marcos administration has further enhanced the program to achieve a better infrastructure status for the Philippines.

II. Objectives of the Study
The study includes three main objectives the researcher aims to tackle:
1. To understand the importance of infrastructure development in the Philippines, and more specifically to Negros Occidental.
2. To identify the mandates of the current implemented laws about infrastructure in the Philippines along with the key provisions provided by the 1987 Constitution with regards to the “Build Better More” infrastructure agenda.
3. To assess the effectiveness of the implementation of the current laws related to President Marcos’s infrastructure agenda so that the program may achieve or enhance its perceived targets based on the data provided by the Philippine Statistics Authority.

III. Scope and Limitations
The study mainly focuses on the agendas of the “Build Build Build” and “Build Better More” programs along with relevant provisions of the law and the Constitution. The researcher will only be selecting a limited number of laws with regards to infrastructure development that will aid him in his discussion. Adding to this, the study covers infrastructure projects all over the country with a special focus on Negros Occidental. The study will not go beyond the understanding behind the passing of the laws with regards to infrastructure development all over the country.

IV. Methodology
The researcher will use a qualitative research design by collecting data with regards to the infrastructure programs and relevant provisions of the law, and an analysis of the gathered data or information will be conducted. The primary sources will be coming from the 1987 Constitution of the Philippines and the Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines where the relevant provisions of the law are published. To support the research, additional information will be gathered from credible sources and journal articles from Google Scholar. The dataset used for the assessment in the latter part will be coming from the latest data gathered by the Philippine Statistics Authority to effectively achieve the objectives mentioned above.

V. Discussion
The discussion will focus on two main points, the importance of infrastructure and the relevant provisions of the law related to infrastructure development. First would be review of related literature which discusses the importance and benefits of having a good infrastructure development and agenda for a country. The body of the discussion will contain relevant provisions which are manifested in the “Build, Better, More” infrastructure agenda of incumbent president Ferdinand “BongBong” Marcos Jr. Under the relevant provisions, the 1987 Constitution of the Philippines, Republic Acts about infrastructure, and some of the most recent local ordinances of Bacolod City will be used to supplement the discussion.

Importance of Infrastructure Development
Infrastructure development is one of the driving forces to build a successful nation. Infrastructure is the system that supports the development of the country and these are not limited to transportation, roadworks, power and energy, water systems, disaster management, health and education systems, agriculture, and communication networks. Aside from providing economic growth and enhancing the well-being of the people, infrastructure has been proven to reduce the cost of transportation while facilitating an increased mobility throughout the country. One of the industries directly affected by the infrastructure development of the country is the agricultural sector. According to the Philippine Statistics Authority (2020) in 2018, farmers in the agricultural sector posted the highest poverty incidence among all basic sectors at a rate of 31.6%, while the poverty incidence of the entire nation was estimated to be at 16.7%. From these figures alone, it is already evident how poverty in these rural agricultural communities play a massive role in contributing to national poverty. With this, it is important to recognize that these agricultural sectors are the ones heavily marginalized and have insufficient income to meet their basic food and non-food needs. With these figures in mind, it comes as no shock as well that growth in agriculture has been the slowest across major sectors wherein according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (2020), agriculture grew only by 1.12% from 2018 to 2019. As production takes place in disaggregated units all over the country, many issues arise from this geographical dispersion such as the lack of efficient systems in storage and drying, increasing transportation costs towards nearby cities, poor road systems, and weakening bargaining power of the farmers. All these are the results coming from poor infrastructure development. One of the main problems of infrastructure development in the country is the lack of farm to market roads which further burdens the farmers’ expenses and access to transportation making them susceptible to incurring even more risks and additional financial problems. Therefore, the government should invest in the development of infrastructure to eradicate the root causes of the problem.

In a study conducted by Ivanova & Masarova (2013), the researchers discussed the significant increases in road refurbishments and construction in the country of Slovakia. The researchers utilized a correlation analysis to investigate the interdependence of the funds expended for road development, gross domestic product, and direct investments from foreign countries. It was shown that there exists a strong dependence between the funds expended for road development and gross domestic product. This analysis exhibits the importance of road infrastructure along with direct foreign investments to economic competitiveness. Having more roads equates to more accessibility to transportation which flourishes trade and business in the country making it more attractive for domestic and foreign investors to fund the market which will therefore boost economic growth in the country. In another study conducted by Maryati, Firman, & et al. (2020), the researchers focussed on the key villages known to be the biggest contributors to the agricultural sector of Indonesia. These areas were carefully surveyed and analyzed for the researchers to understand the benefits of infrastructure development to agriculture. The researchers found that community based infrastructure development provides the advantage of cost reductions and time saving in Indonesia. This is more true to those farmers who are situated near the roads, as transportation and food production are made to be more efficient. However, a small portion of the land of the farmers has to be sacrificed for the development of these farm-to-market roads. Furthermore, it was emphasized that more collection points were established as by-products of the development of these farm-to-market roads which sped up the distribution of agricultural supply to the country which also boosted the industry and the economy as a whole.

Relevant Provisions from the 1987 Constitution of the Philippines
The 1987 Constitution promotes the development of infrastructure in its provisions. In its Preamble, “We, the sovereign Filipino people, imploring the aid of Almighty God, in order to build a just and humane society and establish a Government that shall embody our ideals and aspirations, promote the common good, conserve and develop our patrimony, and secure to ourselves and our posterity the blessings of independence and democracy under the rule of law and a regime of truth, justice, freedom, love, equality, and peace, do ordain and promulgate this Constitution (Official Gazette, n.d).” To promote the common good and develop patrimony, infrastructure development is one of the methods that connect its citizens to better opportunities for education, healthcare, access to resources, and employment.

It is stated in Article 2, Section 21 of the 1987 Constitution that “The State shall promote comprehensive rural development and agrarian reform (Official Gazette, n.d).” Infrastructure development is also proven to improve rural development throughout the country especially in terms of the agricultural sector where the construction of roads have proven to be an effective means of boosting productivity, reducing costs, and saving time.
A similar provision found also in Article 12, Section 1 of the 1987 Constitution also states that “The goals of the national economy are a more equitable distribution of opportunities, income, and wealth; a sustained increase in the amount of goods and services produced by the nation for the benefit of the people; and an expanding productivity as the key to raising the quality of life for all, especially the underprivileged. The State shall promote industrialization and full employment based on sound agricultural development and agrarian reform, through industries that make full and efficient use of human and natural resources, and which are competitive in both domestic and foreign markets. However, the State shall protect Filipino enterprises against unfair foreign competition and trade practices. In the pursuit of these goals, all sectors of the economy and all regions of the country shall be given optimum opportunity to develop. Private enterprises, including corporations, cooperatives, and similar collective organizations, shall be encouraged to broaden the base of their ownership (Official Gazette, n.d).” In line with this provision, infrastructure development can lessen the wealth gap of the marginalized and the wealthy through providing equal opportunities and make it easy for people to access goods and services which therefore increases the overall quality of life of the citizens. Domestic and foreign investments are also dependent on infrastructure development which will strengthen the economy and give rise to more opportunities to develop.

The 2016 Revised Implementing Rules and Regulations of Republic Act No. 9184, Otherwise Known as the Government Procurement Reform Act
The Government Procurement Reform Act which was signed by former president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo is meant to encourage transparency in the procurement process of projects related to infrastructure, give equal opportunities to private parties to participate in public biddings, adapt technology to streamline the procurement process, promote accountability for both public officials and private parties, and enhance public monitoring to make sure the projects are completed based on their indicated specifications (Official Gazette, 2016). As defined by the Philippine Government Electronic Procurement System (n.d), procurement refers to the process of acquiring goods and services at the most optimal price to meet the demands of the purchaser. It is a major government activity, and hundreds of billions of pesos are expended to avail of these goods and services to run the country. It was also further reported that 15% of the annual budget is allocated for the procurement process of infrastructure, equipment, and materials (Philippine Government Electronic Procurement System, 2016). It is a common stigma in society that the procurement system of the Philippines is prone to injustice and corruption. However, after the passing of Republic Act No. 9184 and with its revised implementing rules and regulations in 2016, it seeks to improve the procurement process and transform it into a transparent and accountable system by adapting the best practices. The law outlines all its relevant provisions into twenty-five rules (Official Gazette, 2016). Under rule three of the law, the Philippine Government Electronic Procurement System (PhilGEPS) uses an internet infrastructure to make the procurement process more efficient and transparent. Under this system, there is a centralized electronic bulletin board containing opportunities and invitations to bid on projects (Official Gazette, 2016). There is also a centralized electronic database of all the parties involved in the procurement process and an electronic catalog listing down all the common materials used in projects (Official Gazette, 2016). This law is not only relevant to improving the procurement process of developing infrastructure projects all over the country, but it also exhibits the urgency of the previous administration to improve on its system in order to adapt to the rapidly changing needs of the society. By creating revised implementing rules and regulations in 2016 of the Republic Act No. 9184, the government seeks to correct the inconsistencies in the previous statute to serve the people better.

The 2022 Revised Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of Republic Act No. 6957, “An Act Authorizing the Financing, Construction, Operation and Maintenance of Infrastructure Projects by the Private Sector and for Other Purposes”, as amended by Republic Act No. 7718
While Philippine lawmakers started to develop and improve the guidelines and clarifications of approving projects not limited to infrastructure, several parties from the private sector requested the government to review the existing Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR). After several consultations, the amended IRRs are now in effect to further strengthen the partnership of both the public and private sectors in relation to development and infrastructure projects.

The law is implemented to recognize the important contributions by the private sector in the state’s objective to development, infrastructure, and growth. Under the provisions of this law, Republic Act No. 6957 as amended by Republic Act No. 7718 also includes the appropriate incentives for the completion of these projects. Aside from this, the law seeks to deliver high-quality public service by creating various standards and guidelines to facilitate the ongoing infrastructure and development projects. With its implementation, the law aims to promote transparency and accountability to reveal the costs of the projects to the people, avoid conflict of interest, promote competitiveness, and ensure that the involved parties are able to complete their obligations to the contract of the project (Official Gazette, 2022).

The law outlines its relevant provisions into 16 different rules (Official Gazette, 2022). The outlined provisions do not only provide a systematic approach to public parties entering into contracts with the government, but it also makes it easier for the government to track the progress and set limitations to what can be done for the ongoing projects.

Under rule two, the private sector can have the opportunity to partly or wholly finance and operate projects which are commonly financed by the public sector involving construction, modernization, expansion, and many more (Official Gazette, 2022). These projects are not limited to highways, railways, expressways, telecommunications, airports, education and health infrastructure, land reclamation, and information technology networks (Official Gazette, 2022). With the help of the private sector in developing infrastructure all over the country, the government can create better goods and services for the general public through the shared and collaborated knowledge, expertise, and experiences gathered by both parties. This fosters even more innovation and creativity in the process of procurement and implementation of each project.

City Ordinance No. 981 of Bacolod City
In 2022, the Bacolod City Government published its most recently implemented city ordinances in its official website. City Ordinance No. 981 is entitled “City Level-up for Agriculture and Biosystems Engineering Ordinance” which establishes the Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering (ABE) Department in Bacolod City (Bacolod City Government, n.d). The provisions of the ordinance are divided into 16 different sections. Under section three of this statute, the department is responsible for creating and facilitating infrastructure projects in relation to agriculture and biosystems by providing engineering services, coordinating with relevant offices, introducing the important machinery and equipment, strengthening irrigation systems, and other agendas to boost agricultural productivity in the city (Bacolod City Government, n.d). As previously mentioned, infrastructure development plays a huge role in the agriculture sector of a nation. An ordinance like this can certainly ensure all the processes in relation to agriculture are coordinated with one another making food production more efficient and thereby making food supply more accessible to the general public.

City Ordinance No. 991 of Bacolod City
City Ordinance No. 991 was also implemented in 2022 entitled “​​An Ordinance mandating the Annual Appropriation of Five Million Pesos (P5,000,000.00) for Infrastructure projects to Community Housing Associations whose members acquired their house and lot through Community Housing Program of the Government, Direct Purchase, Donation, Fee Patent or other analogous acquisitions” which aims to allocate a fund of 5,000,000 pesos every year for infrastructure projects not limited to bridges, parks, water systems, drainage systems, foot walks, and multipurpose halls (Bacolod City Government, n.d). This is to improve the quality of life of the marginalized homeowners who acquired their homes from the housing programs of the government (Bacolod City Government, n.d). As a result of the infrastructure agenda, the City of Bacolod also takes into account the condition of the public housing of the marginalized communities in order to help them gain access to other social services and provide them a safe and healthy societal environment.

VI. Findings
In order to assess the effectiveness of the implementation of the “Build Better More” infrastructure agenda all throughout the Philippines, the statistical indicators on Philippine development (StatDev) created by the Philippine Statistic Authority will be used as a measure to determine if the infrastructure agenda meets the targets and goals established by the Philippine Development Plan (PDP). The StatDev 2021 contains a vast range of indicators on different fields related to development in the country. The researcher used the infrastructure data set, as it is the most relevant to the main topic of this research. According to Philippine Statistics Authority (2022), out of the 50 indicators set forth by PDP, 14 of the targets had a high likelihood of achieving the target, 7 of the targets had a medium likelihood of meeting its goals, and 29 had a low probability of achieving its agenda. The targets were dispersed into different categories, namely, power and energy, transportation infrastructure, air transportation, water transportation, information and communications technology, water supply and sanitation, social infrastructure, and irrigation.

Power and Energy
As the national population continues to increase every year, it can also be presumed that electricity consumption should also increase in proportion to the population. From the years 2016 to 2021, it can be observed that electricity consumption continues to increase along the years, and it is the role of the Department of Energy to provide sufficient access to power. The results show that there is a medium chance of meeting this demand for power for the year of 2022.

Transportation Infrastructure
Under transportation infrastructure, the Philippine Statistics Authority measured the travel time on land in the most utilized routes in the Philippines. To further illustrate, some examples of travel time measured were from the routes of Manila to Baguio, from Clark to Subic, and etc. From the years 2016 to 2021, there were some routes that increased in travel time along the years, but there were also routes which shortened their travel time. For those routes that significantly decreased its travel time, it can be presumed that the development of road transportation in those areas were also improved over the years. These routes include Manila to Baguio, Manila to Pagudpud, Manila to Clark, Manila to Batangas, Iloilo to Capiz, Bacolod to Dumaguete to Bayawan, and Danao to Cebu to Santander. However, despite achieving a shortened amount of travel time in these areas, most of the routes have a low likelihood of meeting the targets set by the PDP. For the routes of Manila to Baguio, Manila to Clark, and Manila to Batangas, the Philippine Statistics Authority found that there was a medium likelihood for it to meet targets of the PDP.

Air Transportation
In terms of air transportation, the data was divided into two sub-categories. The first category measured air passenger movement, and the data showed that international and domestic flights in NAIA had a high probability of meeting targets set by the PDP. For Mactan Cebu and Clark Airport, the data showed that there is a low probability of meeting those targets. Under cargo shipped through means of air transportation, only NAIA had a high chance of hitting the targets while CAAP had a medium chance of reaching the targets. On the other hand, Clark Airport had a low probability of meeting the target.

Water Transportation
Similar to data from air transportation, water transportation is also divided into two different sub-categories, namely, passengers transported through sea and cargo shipped. All the ports measured by the Philippine Statistics Authority failed to meet the expected targets set forth for them in the following year in terms of passengers transported through sea. However, Subic Port is the only port that failed to reach the expected target out of the four ports being evaluated (PPA, Cebu Port, Subic Port, CEZA). It can be noted in the dataset that the number of vehicles transported by the roll on roll off vessels have increased over the years and are on track to hit the expected target set by the PDP.

Information and Communications Technology
The main indicator measured in the dataset is the average broadband download speed. It can be observed that internet infrastructure has significantly improved its performance and speed all throughout the country for the years of 2016 to 2021, and it is on track to meet its established target by the PDP for the year of 2022. However, the results of the data showed that there still can be improvements in improving internet infrastructure for public schools especially for junior high schools in the Philippines.

Water Resources
In terms of having 24/7 access to water supply, the results show that there is a low probability that cities and municipalities in the Philippines will be able to achieve this. Aside from this, the access to safe water supply calls the attention of policymakers to improve on this aspect for people to have better access to clean and potable water. It can be noted however that access to improved sanitation has a high chance of meeting the target set by the PDP for the following year. In terms of irrigation, the National Irrigation Authority and the Bureau of Soils and Water Management have done their part to increase cropping intensity and the total potential irrigable area in the country allowing it to meet the expected targets for the year of 2022.

Social Infrastructure
In terms of other social infrastructures indicated by the Philippine Statistics Authority, there are not a lot of barangays who have access to material recovery facilities. As a result, there is a low chance that they could not meet the set targets for the following year. However, a lot of barangays all over the country have access to sanitary landfills which makes them on track to meet the target of the PDP.

VII. Conclusions
The former “Build Build Build” program which was further improved by the “Build Better More” infrastructure agenda encouraged the policymakers of the Philippines to create various laws to support infrastructure development in the country, as well as, improve on the provisions of existing Republic Acts to better serve the people at the national level. On the other hand, the current infrastructure agenda has also pushed policymakers in Bacolod City to create local ordinances in relation to advanced engineering and infrastructure for agriculture and various housing projects for marginalized communities living within the city. When compared to the ordinances drafted and implemented in the previous year, the ordinances that were created in the year of 2022 were more focussed on providing the people better infrastructure even at the local level. However, when being compared to the assessment found in the data of the Philippine Statistics Authority, it is shown that there are several inconsistencies in the different categories of infrastructure, for most of the categories failed to meet the expected standards set by the Philippine Development Plan. This shows that more improvements should still be made in terms of the implementation of the laws at the local and national level. Although there have been several improvements in terms of the procurement process and transparency of releasing and monitoring the development of public infrastructure projects over the years, more attention should be given to the implementation of the projects and programs to ensure that these meet the set targets.

VIII. Recommendations
The researcher acknowledges the fact that policymakers at the local and national level are doing their part in the creation of laws that support the development of infrastructure in the Philippines. However, with the latest report by the Philippine Statistics Authority, the method of the implementation of projects should be re-evaluated to better serve the needs of the people.
At the national level, the researcher recommends that more efforts should be made to ensure that the allocated budget is directed towards the projects and programs created by the government for infrastructure development. Anti-corruption measures should be strictly implemented in all the bidding events which should be carefully monitored by the authorities. There should also be a more efficient reporting mechanism of any suspicious or corrupt activity that is occuring within the bidding events in order for authorities to easily prevent, investigate and prosecute the act. This ensures a more competitive bidding environment especially to public and private parties interested in developing infrastructure in the country. Aside from this, the government should also invest in more advanced technology to support the operations of PhilGEPS in order to create an efficient reporting system of the projects. This not only ensures that all of the standards of the projects and programs are met, but it also allows them to keep track of what projects are delayed and done on time making it easier for them to sanction those parties who fail to fulfill their obligations. The government should allocate a greater budget in its research and development team to innovate better products and services that will transform its infrastructure into more efficient systems while reducing costs to advance the lifestyle of the citizens and boost its own economy. Moreover, the research and development team should also adapt the best practices from foreign countries and integrate it into the infrastructure agenda of the Philippines. Lastly, the government should establish a committee that plans and coordinates the relevant branches of the government in each project in order to maximize efficiency and time to complete the projects at a faster rate.

At the local level, specifically in the City of Bacolod, local legislators should explore more facets of infrastructure as they continue to draft and implement local ordinances. For the year of 2021, there were very few ordinances in relation to infrastructure development, but the policymakers were able to improve by drafting more agendas in the following year. However, to advance the lifestyle of the locals, more plans for development should be made to the city. To better streamline and monitor the projects and programs by the city, an ordinance should be drafted in relation to allocating a budget for more advanced technology to facilitate the planning and implementation of the infrastructure agendas to ensure that the projects directly go back to the people, especially to the most vulnerable communities within the city.

For future researchers, the researcher recommends that they explore other areas of infrastructure development. Due to time constraints, the research only contains provisions that cover mostly transportation infrastructure, rural development, and the agriculture sector. Since infrastructure is a vast topic and is interconnected with a lot of departments that significantly boost economic growth and the wellbeing of the state’s citizens, future researchers can also focus on the development of the health and education sector as this also plays a vital role in the social autonomy of the people. A study of other relevant laws and provisions in relation to infrastructure can also be utilized to support the study of its development.

IX. Bibliography
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Ivanova, E. & Masarova, J. (2013). Importance of Road Infrastructure in the Economic Development and Competitiveness. Competitiveness of Nations in Global Economy, 18(2), 263-274. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.5755/j01.em.18.2.4253.

Llanto, G. M. (2016). Philippine Infrastructure and Connectivity: Challenges and Reforms. Asian Economic Policy Review, 11(2), 243–261. Retrieved from doi:10.1111/aepr.12141.

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Official Gazette. (n.d). The Constitution of the Republic of the Philippines. Retrieved from https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/constitutions/1987-constitution/.

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Official Gazette. (2022). Revised Implementing Rules and Regulations of R.A. No. 6957, “An Act Authorizing the Financing, Construction, Operation and Maintenance of Infrastructure Projects by the Private Sector and for Other Purposes”, As Amended by R.A. No. 7718. Retrieved from https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/2022/03/31/revised-implementing-rules-and-regulation-of-r-a-no-6957-an-act-authorizing-the-financing-construction-operation-and-maintenance-of-infrastructure-projects-by-the-private-sector-for-other-purpo/.

Patinio, F. (2022). ‘Build, Better, More’ infra projects on the way to robust economy. Retrieved from https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1185679.

Philippine Government Electronic Procurement System. (n.d). PhilGEPS – Government’s Tool for Procurement Reforms and Transparency. Retrieved from
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Philippine Statistics Authority. (2020). Agricultural Indicators System – Economic Growth: Agriculture. Retrieved from https://psa.gov.ph/sites/default/files/Publication-AIS-Eco-Growth-signed.pdf.

Philippine Statistics Authority. (2020). Agricultural Indicators System: Employment and Wages in the Agricultural Sector. Retrieved January 3, 2021, from https://psa.gov.ph/sites/default/files/AIS%20Employment%20and%20Wages_signed%201127%20.pdf

Philippine Statistics Authority. (2020). Farmers, Fisherfolks, Individuals Residing in Rural Areas and Children Posted the Highest Poverty Incidences Among the Basic Sectors in 2018. Retrieved from https://psa.gov.ph/poverty-press-releases/nid/162541

Philippine Statistics Authority. (2020). Updated 2015 and 2018 Full Year Official Poverty Statistics. Retrieved from https://psa.gov.ph/poverty-press-releases/nid/162559.

X. About the Researcher
I am Azriel Ang, a first year Juris Doctor student at the University of St. La Salle Bacolod City, who aims to study the law and use my talents to bring significant changes to the society we live in today. The research I have conducted is in line with my passions for the development of Philippine infrastructure and sustainability all over the country. I hope that this legal research would answer some of the questions of future researchers with regards to infrastructure and inspire others to answer the call to action to improve the Philippines.