By David Ricardo Cagahastian
SOON, there will be 12 more bridges to cross Pasig River and Marikina River—two of these to be constructed for free as a donation from China—perhaps the single biggest change to happen in the horrendous traffic situation in Metro Manila.
The 10 new bridges, to cost P27.4 billion, have been approved for official development assistance financing by the Neda Investment Coordination Committee-Cabinet Committee (ICC-CabCom), and Chinese funding is also being eyed for this package.
These bridges, along with three other big-ticket infrastructure projects—the P10.9-billion New Centennial Water Source-Kaliwa Dam, the P2.7-billion Chico River Pump Irrigation Facility, and the P151-billion South Long-Haul Railway in Bicol region —are among the many palpable economic gains President Rodrigo Duterte and his team stand to push and achieve at the 16th Boao Economic Forum in Hainan today.
In Boao, Duterte will have the opportunity to meet again with Chinese President Xi Jinping, who has received a new mandate of sort from the Chinese people with the scrapping of term limits for the presidency. Xi is also chairman of the China’s military commission and general secretary of the ruling Communist Party of China, where real political power emanates.
Two conversation topics that might be taken up by Duterte and Xi are the possible joint exploration in the South China Sea and the entry of a third player in the telecommunications industry in the Philippines, which had been offered by Duterte to Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang during his visit last year.
A similar economic forum in Davos, Switzerland was held last January but Duterte, smarting from his feud with European human rights officials, was understandably absent there.
The President’s choice to participate in Boao is well timed, as this indeed is the year that power shifts from the West to the East, and not just to China but also to Asia as a whole.
The Philippine President’s attendance in Boao Forum is significant, too because the forum was initiated by a group of world leaders in 1998 which included its prime mover, President Fidel V. Ramos, and former Prime Minister Bob Hawke of Australia, and former Prime Minister Morihiro Hosokawa of Japan.
It was formally inaugurated in February 2001, with participation from 26 Asian and Australasian nations, including its most ardent supporter, China.
From April 9 to 10, world leaders and great minds in governance, science and technology, academia, business and economics gather in Hainan for the Boao Forum.
Happily, there will be a Filipino delegation headed by Duterte himself, to participate in this learning and sharing experience which China is sponsoring for the benefits of all nationalities.
Without a doubt, Boao has become the “Voice of Asia” and the message that it carries this year is “Reform, opening up and innovation,” which is the hallmark of the Xi Jinping vision for a rejuvenated China under a new era of socialism with Chinese characteristics.