Episode 7: The President’s instructions were clear from the onset: Finish as many “Build, Build, Build” projects as possible in the soonest possible time. Whoever gets the credit is none of our business. Five years after, DPWH, under Secretary Villar, has completed a total of 29,264 kilometers of roads, 5,950 bridges, 11,340 flood control projects, 222 evacuation centers, 89 Tatag ng Imprastraktura Para sa Kapayapaan at Seguridad (TIKAS) projects and 150,149 classrooms, and 653 COVID-19 facilities has also been built under the “Build, Build, Build” program.

Episode 6: Out of the 171 countries assessed in the 2016 World Risk Report, the Philippines ranked 3rd most exposed to natural hazards. According to PAGASA, the Philippines is visited by at least 20 tropical cyclones every year. Just last week, heavy rains brought about by tropical storm Karding led to the evacuation of at least 50,000 individuals after Marikina River’s water level peaked at 20.6 meters (as compared to 23 m during Ondoy). During the clean-up operations that followed, I was surprised to see all sorts of garbage, from sofa to refrigerators inside our drainage canals — sediments that impede the natural flow of water.

Episode 5: If the Philippines is to achieve its full potential, then it must do something to cut losses due to traffic congestion in Metro Manila, which had gone up to P3.5 billion a day. It was at this point that Secretary Mark Villar presented the plan to decongest the 90-year-old EDSA, a 23.8-km circumferential highway which has long exceeded its maximum capacity of 288,000 vehicles a day. The plan was not well received at the onset. Few believed it can be done. Four years after — with the completion of several big-ticket projects in Metro Manila, including the Skyway Stage 3, the NLEX Harbor Link, the Radial Road 10 Spur Link, the Laguna Lake Highway, the promise of returning EDSA back to its 1930 form is within arm’s reach.

Episode 4: When Secretary Mark Villar was first appointed in 2016 — a lot were critical. But after working with him for several years, I had no doubt, he will deliver. He has shown leadership in the most critical times — even when his own life is in danger. This man was willing to work 18 hours a day to build infrastructure that would allow Filipinos to dream and hope for a better future. From the onset, Sec Mark wanted to end his stint as czar of Build, Build, Build knowing that he gave it everything he got.

Episode 3: In the 2016 Presidential elections, Rodrigo Duterte was a political underdog. His rise to power was almost unforeseeable to the Philippine kingmakers who were betting for more popular candidates. Prior to his victory, Philippines had never had a President from Mindanao. It took the country 117 years to elect one. Clearly, the mayor of Davao City was a statistical outlier who dared to defy the odds.

Episode 1: Build, Build, Build has been the target of fake news, trolls and critics. They have tried to redefine it far from its scope — and in their “proud, most credible voice” — report it as truth. Are they confused or just simply, cunning? During the upcoming elections, many will try to discredit the accomplishments of 6.5 million construction workers. They will say that what we have completed is not enough, that there could have been many things that we could have done still, or that we never really worked at all. Allow me to say — if you are reading this, and you’re part of the Build, Build, Build team - without you, we wouldn’t have been able to build 29,264 km of roads, 5,950 bridges, 11,340 flood control projects, 222 evacuation centers, 150,149 classrooms, 214 airport projects and 451 seaport projects. Philippines is in a much better place because of your skill, work and sacrifices.

Episode 2:  Before I entered government, I was a humanitarian worker who traveled to all 18 regions in the country. I worked with both the United Nations Development Program and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. On November 8, 2013, Super Typhoon Yolanda first made landfall in the municipality of Guiuan in Eastern Samar. The terrain was difficult. Delivery of goods proved to be challenging. Cadavers lined up on the streets. Trees and debris blocked the roads. The smell of death and decay lasted for months. At that time, I wished the Philippines had better roads, that it would be easier for anyone who wanted to send help, to reach areas that needed medicines, food, and water. Bulldozers arrived from Cebu, Manila, and Davao via boat because a number of equipment in the region were lost or destroyed. What was left was not enough to reach far-flung areas that were completely isolated. In several towns, it took weeks before help came. Several years after Typhoon Yolanda struck the Philippines, international development organizations remained to help in the recovery and rehabilitation process. In my mind, it was difficult to talk about sustainable development when students had to risk their lives just to go to school, when farmers and fishers had to take whatever the middle men were willing to give because transportation of their produce proved too difficult. A number of municipalities could only be accessed through boats. Whenever it rained, families would have to make a decision whether to risk their lives or lose their income. It was at this point that I realized that if we were to achieve real and inclusive economic growth, then a good infrastructure network was necessary. I would have never thought that in a matter of years I would join President Rodrigo Duterte’s Build, Build, Build team.