Constructors’ group marks 75 years of nation building

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine Constructors Association (PCA), which has  served as a cornerstone for the country’s growth and development, had big plans when it welcomed 2020 to mark its 75th year.

It opened the year with the launch of the 10-year Philippine Construction Industry Roadmap, charting the course for a stronger and more resilient industry which had been growing fastest among all sectors at an average 10 percent annually in the past five years.

But with the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the construction sector instead headed for an unprecedented contraction along with the rest of the domestic economy.

PCA quickly re-engineered its plans to immediately respond to the needs of the industry and the nation. It partnered with the Ayala Group in the fit-out construction for 9,700 square meters of space at the World Trade Center into a 500-bed quarantine facility in a span of seven days. PCA also helped build sufficient quarantine facilities at eight COVID referral hospitals, including the UP-PGH.

PCA led the formulation of health and safety protocols for the construction sector to convince the government to allow resumption of work at the construction sites. Its online forum – PCA Talks – became the go-to venue for information about the industry amid the pandemic.

The association also accelerated its digitization program, maximizing online platforms to reach its members. This effort enabled faster mobilization, especially during the onslaught of Typhoons Rolly and Ulysses. PCA was able to provide relief goods such as rice and canned goods as well as equipment for clearing operations to the hardest hit provinces of the successive typhoons. Before that, the organization also conducted relief operations for the victims of the Taal Volcano eruption earlier in the year.

“Now is the time to act as one, build as one. Because more than a partnership, what we need right now is a synchronized effort of both public and private sectors to win this war against COVID-19 and rise again as a stronger nation after this pandemic,” said PCA president Wilfredo Decena.

Forged together with the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), the Philippine Construction Industry Roadmap serves as a blueprint to propel the industry towards higher levels of growth and catch up with its neighboring countries, in terms of capacity, construction values, and institutional integrity in the next ten years.

The industry roadmap feeds into the 30-year National Infrastructure Program (2023-2052) that covers major infrastructure projects of the national government, which is now being proposed by Rep. Romeo Momo under House Bill 8151.

“The adverse effects of the recent spate of destructive typhoons and floods, coupled with the COVID pandemic, further highlight the need for strategic infrastructure projects based on an overall long-term program in order to better use scarce funds to provide more effective and lasting engineering and related measures to address these calamities,” said Momo in his explanatory note.

As an immediate measure to support the development of the Philippine construction industry, several legislators are also proposing bills to amend the Contractors’ License Law (RA 4566) to position local builders at the forefront of the country’s recovery from the global pandemic.

In a recent speech, Decena said that the passage of these bills will help the country not just to rebuild from the devastation of the recent calamities and the global pandemic but build better towards the common goal and single vision of a truly progressive Filipino nation.