United Nationalist Alliance party senatorial bet Jejomar Binay on Tuesday said the development of Mindanao will be central to the country’s sustained economic growth.
The former vice president said if elected, he would push for measures that would increase government spending for social services and infrastructure in Mindanao, and bring more foreign investments, particularly in agriculture and power.
Binay visited provinces in South Mindanao where he met with local officials who pledged their support for his candidacy.
He also met with former Davao City mayor and vice presidential candidate Sara Duterte at the Davao City Hall on Monday.
Binay thanked Duterte for her support, and referred to the presidential daughter as “madam vice president.”
Binay said he intends to push for laws that would help create a business environment that will attract investors in agriculture and power generation.
“We will support and encourage policy measures that will make crops from Mindanao globally competitive. This should go hand in hand with expanding rural infrastructure,” he said.
The former vice president also said government would need to allocate more for investments in health, infrastructure, and education in Mindanao.
“Investing in the social well-being of the people needs to be a priority since the people will form the backbone of Mindanao’s development,” he said.
Binay also said more infrastructure projects in Mindanao will translate to more jobs, more economic activities, and more investors.
Binay said priority should be given to get investors in the power sector and vowed to provide needed legislation that would streamline the application process for the construction of power plants.
“We need to cut down the bureaucratic inefficiencies that delay the construction of new power plants. We will streamline the application process for new power plants to ramp-up Mindanao’s power supply,” he added.
