Dizon explains P11.49-B DPWH budget increase for 2027

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Public Works Secretary Vince Dizon said the P11.49-billion increase in the proposed budget of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) for 2027 recommended by the Budget Amendments Review Sub-Committee (BARSC) of the House Committee on Appropriations would fund infrastructure projects that have recently completed the required documentation.

According to Dizon, some local road and flood mitigation projects were not included in the original P643.95-billion DPWH budget proposal because they had yet to comply with documentary and implementation requirements.

“Hindi lahat eh, lalong lalo na 'yung mga local roads. Kailangan natin 'yan eh kasi 'yung mga national roads naman mostly ‘yan maintenance na lang at kaunti na lang 'yan,” Dizon said during an inspection in Manila.

(Not all [were included in the proposed budget], especially the [construction of] local roads. We need those because the national roads would just need maintenance and there are just a few of them.)

Dizon stressed that all projects must undergo strict screening and comply with the agency’s requirements before they can be funded and implemented. He said these projects later completed the requirements, prompting the request for additional funding. He also assured the public that the DPWH would closely monitor the use of the funds to help prevent corruption.

“Walang proyekto na hindi puwedeng walang kumpletong requirements: program of works, plano, kasama dapat sa master plan ng mga LGUs and kasama din sa master plan ng mga river basins natin lalo na kung iyan ay flood mitigation. Kailangan ‘yan may no objection sa mga LGU kasi ayaw na natin maulit 'yung hindi coordinated ang mga proyekto sa mga LGU,” Dizon added.

(No project will be allowed to have incomplete requirements. The program of works, plan should be included in the master plan of LGUs and in the master plan of our river basins, especially if that is for flood mitigation. The LGU should have no objection to the project because we want to avoid having projects that are not coordinated with LGUs.)

The BARSC on October 1 recommended an additional P11.49 billion for the DPWH, with more than half earmarked for national road projects. The proposed increase still requires approval from the full House Committee on Appropriations and the House plenary.

ACT Teachers Representative and Deputy Minority Leader Antonio Tinio called for a full disclosure of project lists, proponents, allocation criteria, and funding sources after the BARSC approved P77.86 billion in "pork-type amendments" for the 2027 proposed national budget.

The P77.86-B "pork-type" amendments account for 67% of the P116.32-B total amendments approved by BARSC on October 1 and 2, Tinio said.

The "pork-type" amendments are for the following programs: DPWH capital outlay, Local Government Support Fund (LGSF), farm-to-market roads, Health Facilities Enhancement Program (HFEP), Medical Assistance for Indigent and Financially Incapacitated Patients (MAIFIP), TUPAD, and the Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situations (AICS).

“These amendments show that pork has not disappeared from the national budget. It has merely been repackaged under institutional amendments, local government support, infrastructure lump sums, and cash assistance programs. Pinalaki ang infrastructure pork at ayuda," Tinio said.

(The infrastructure pork and cash aid were given more allocations.)

“Meanwhile, no additional funds were provided for PERA (Personnel Economic Relief Allowance), despite the clamor to raise the current proposal of an additional Php 500 per month for government employees on top of the current Php 2000 to a more substantial amount. They have been waiting 17 years for a PERA increase. Neither were amendments provided for teacher pay or additional plantilla positions. DepEd’s Php 6.61-billion request for ARAL and learning recovery was not acted upon, while ARAL received only Php 350 million. These figures expose the distorted priorities of the amendments,” the lawmaker said.

Tinio also said amendments for DPWH roads and convergence projects were presented without named projects or locations.

He also said that P11.49 billion in DPWH institutional amendments were not itemized. —RSD/KG, GMA News