Diokno: 2018 infra spending below target

State spending on infrastructure likely fell slightly below target last year but the Duterte administration cannot be said to have held back from implementing a policy aim, a Cabinet official claimed on Wednesday.

In a press briefing, Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno said infrastructure spending as a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP) was estimated to have hit 6.2 percent in 2018, almost triple the average of 2 percent from 1986 to 2016.