House OKs 30-year national infra master plan on 2nd reading

MANILA, Philippines — The House of Representatives on Tuesday approved on second reading a bill that would institutionalize a 30-year national infrastructure master plan to ensure projects are implemented consistently, regardless of political changes.

Lawmakers approved House Bill No. 11597, or the Masterplan for Infrastructure and National Development (MIND) Act, by voice vote. 

Designed as a long-term roadmap for public works, the measure directs the government to craft a comprehensive infrastructure vision updated every six years, while allowing earlier reviews if technological advances, crises or economic disruptions require them.

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“This measure recognizes a simple but important principle. Vision building must outlast political terms,” Surigao del Sur Rep. Romeo Momo Sr., sponsor of the bill, told lawmakers.

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“Administrations will change. Priorities may evolve. Technologies will advance. Economic conditions will shift. But the Philippines must have a long-term infrastructure direction that provides continuity, coherence and strategic purpose,” he said.

READ: Ejercito renews push for long-term infra master plan

The bill strives to create a national template “for determining what infrastructure we need, where it should be located… and how individual investments should work together to advance national and regional development,” he said.

The master plan targets core developments in transportation systems, energy, water, digital infrastructure and housing, while also prioritizing agricultural and fisheries modernization, according to the bill.

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And under the measure, local and regional infrastructure priorities would feed into the master plan to enable the government to identify development gaps and streamline needed projects to plug them.

“Its purpose is straightforward: to make government infrastructure planning more coordinated, more strategic, and more accountable,” said Momo.

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Yearly infrastructure funding would also be tied to the 30-year plan to “prevent arbitrary changes,” the bill’s fact sheet added. /das