UN Reports Philippines Ranked 24th Among 41 Asia, Pacific Countries On Access To Infrastructure

Malacañang welcomed Thursday, May 11, the United Nations’ (UN) special report, which revealed that the Philippines is ranked 24th among 41 Asia and Pacific countries, with regard to access to infrastructure.

“We acknowledge the Asia-Pacific Countries with Special Needs Report 2017 of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), showing that the Philippines is ranked 24th out of 41 Asia and the Pacific countries in terms of access to infrastructure,” Presidential Spokesperson Ernesto Abella said in a statement.

The UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, in its Asia-Pacific Countries with Special Needs Report 2017, said the Philippines posted a score of 0.336 in the Access for Physical Infrastructure Index (APII) for 2015.

The APII analyzed the condition of infrastructure in 41 Asia-Pacific countries over time.

Among Southeast Asian countries, the Philippines was placed higher than Indonesia (0.278), Lao People's Democratic Republic (0.225), Myanmar (0.198), and Cambodia (0.186).

The Philippines, however, lagged behind Thailand (0.418), Vietnam (0.419), Malaysia (0.502), and Singapore (0.708).

Brunei was not in the roster.

Abella said the government is committed to overriding the infrastructure backlog by the past administrations, touting the “aggressive” infrastructure program laid under the watch of President Rodrigo Duterte.

“We recognize the infrastructure backlog left by previous governments, thus, at the beginning of the term of the President, the Duterte administration’s economic managers have already vowed to accelerate infrastructure investments,” Abella said.

“Ten months after, we now have an aggressive infrastructure program, which we call Build Build Build, which aims to construct a network of roads, bridges, railways and airports to spur economic growth and lower poverty,” he added.

Source: SunStar PH