Bongbong: EDSA revolt derailed development projects

TUGUEGARAO CITY, Philippines – Many development projects remain unfinished 30 years after the late strongman Ferdinand Marcos was ousted during the 1986 EDSA people power revolt.

This is according to his son and namesake, Sen. Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., who said there is nothing to celebrate in the EDSA revolution in 1986.

“I was on the other side of the fence, so it’s hard to say if we need to celebrate, but what I say is many projects remain unfinished since 1986,” he said.

Marcos said among the unfinished projects that his father had started is the Metro Rail Transit, which is now supposed to be in its eighth stage. He said only a few lines of the commuter train system were constructed.

“They will buy a new train for instance, but this will be another problem in the contract,” he said.

Marcos said another example of unfinished projects is power infrastructure, which he said remains neglected until today.

“Was there any effort to install submarine cables in each of our islands since 1986? There was none. This could be a great help for each region to have their own source of power,” he said.

Marcos lamented the country remains to have the highest power rates in Asia with no permanent solution in sight.

He added the Philippines is behind as far as Internet connectivity is concerned.

Marcos, a vice presidential candidate, lamented the education sector remains neglected.

During the administration of his late father, he said the Philippines had the highest literary rate in Asia but today, the education sector and the plight of teachers have not been given attention.

Marcos said his father launched the feeding program for school children, which should have continued.

“The feeding program should have been continued to help poor parents who cannot afford decent food for their children,” he said.

Marcos said the administration that succeeded his father abolished the Energy Stabilization Fund that could have cushioned the impact of rising prices of world crude.

He stressed the need to revisit the unfinished development projects that should have been completed years ago.

The senator also cited the construction of phase 2 of the Magat Dam that was approved but not implemented.

Marcos vowed to pursue the unfinished programs so that the country can move on and compete with its counterparts in the Asian region.

“It has been 30 years and many places in the country are still waiting… I hope to revisit those projects,” he said.