SENATE Minority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano urged the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) to step up rural infrastructure development.
During the DPWH’s briefing on its proposed 2027 budget on Friday, Cayetano said the government should address the uneven distribution of infrastructure as part of a broader strategy to promote balanced regional development.
”I’d like to encourage us and to keep saying that whatever we plant is what we will reap. So, we can’t keep complaining of massive urbanization and not building in the rural areas. We’re all guilty of it,” Cayetano said.
He said the lack of reliable infrastructure and basic services in rural communities leaves residents with little choice but to move to cities in search of jobs, schools, hospitals and other essential services.
Cayetano said that in Europe, living outside major urban centers does not necessarily mean limited access to basic services.
”The thing is in Europe, for example, if you say rural, there’s electricity, water, internet, school and hospital. In the Philippines, when it’s rural, it’s dirt-poor,” he said.
The senator asked the DPWH to determine how much of its infrastructure spending is directed to rural communities compared with urban areas, saying the data could help assess whether public investments are contributing to a more balanced distribution of economic activity.
”There are about five to 10 provinces that have been perennially, for the last 20 years, in the 20 poorest,” Cayetano said, noting that these areas also face high rates of stunting and other health problems, as well as insurgency.
Public Works Secretary Vince Dizon said that there were increased allocations for poorer regions, including Bicol and Eastern Visayas, while acknowledging the challenges posed by rapid urbanization.
