Who is Giovanni ‘Banoy’ Lopez, the new DPWH secretary?

LOPEZ. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Transportation Secretary Banoy Lopez inspects the Metro Manila Subway Project’s tunnel boring machine breakthrough on September 23, 2026, connecting the southbound tunnel between the North Avenue and Quezon Avenue Stations.

DOTr/FACEBOOK

After serving in the Department of Transportation for nearly a decade, Giovanni 'Banoy' Lopez moves to the Department of Public Works and Highways

MANILA, Philippines – President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. appointed Transportation Secretary Giovanni “Banoy” Lopez as chief of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), replacing Secretary Vince Dizon.

Dizon, meanwhile, returns to lead the Department of Transportation.

A certified public accountant and lawyer, Lopez will be tasked to institutionalize reforms in the DPWH, which has been marred by corruption issues, said acting Presidential Communications Secretary Lino Cayetano.

Lopez has been serving DOTr for nearly a decade. Based on available public information, he served as assistant secretary for procurement and project implementation and director for legal services in the DOTr in 2017.

He was then appointed as DOTr undersecretary for finance and chief of staff in 2021. In the same year, he became executive director (officer-in-charge) of the Toll Regulatory Board.

In 2022, Lopez became executive director of the Land Transportation Office.

From February to August 2025, he was senior undersecretary for administration, finance, and procurement of DOTr.

Marcos appointed Lopez as DOTr secretary in September 2025, after the post was vacated by Dizon.

Lopez hails from Tuguegarao, Cagayan. He finished high school at the University of Saint Louis Tuguegarao in 1996.

Lopez earned his accountancy degree as cum laude at St. Paul University Philippines. He studied law at San Beda University. – Rappler.com