Kalayaan Hall, Malacañan Palace
May 15, 2024
President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. approved various projects on infrastructure, agriculture and transportation as he presided over the 16th National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Board Meeting at the Kalayaan Hall in Malacañan Palace.
These approved items include the proposed implementation of Facility for Accelerating Studies for Infrastructure (FAST-Infra) Project that aims to develop a robust infrastructure investment program aligned with the Philippines’ sustainable development goals and socioeconomic agenda, and the Infrastructure for Safer and Resilient Schools (ISRS) Project that is estimated to cost PhP30 billion over the period of 2025-2029.
Regarding the Official Development Assistance (ODA) with request for changes, Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) Secretary Conrado Estrella III proposed a four (4)- year extension on the implementation period of the Support Parcelization of Lands for Individual Titling (Project SPLIT) from January 2024 to December 2027 without an increase in cost, as well as a 36-month extension of loan validity.
Meanwhile, Department of Transportation (DOTr) Secretary Jaime Bautista discussed three (3) points on the Light Rail Transit (LRT) Line 2 East Extension (L2EE) Project. These include the 36-month extension of the implementation period from January 2022 to December 2024; the decrease in project cost amounting to more than PhP1.3 million; and change in design from the approved project length of 4.19 kilometers to 3.79 kilometers.
The Committee on Tariff and Related Matters (CTRM) gave its recommendation based on the results of the review of Executive Order (E.O.) No. 12, series of 2023 wherein the President approved the expansion of the E.O. coverage reducing the tariff to zero until the year 2028 for hybrid and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (EV) cars and trucks; battery, hybrid and plug-in hybrid EV buses and jeepneys; battery tricycles and quadricycles; and completely knocked-down (CKD) electric vehicles of all types.
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