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THE Bureau of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) reduced approximately P255 billion worth of domestically funded flood management initiatives from its suggested 2026 financial plan.
We are modifying the agency’s financial plan for 2026. We have eliminated complex initiatives, redundant initiatives that are still receiving financing or that have been earmarked funding for 2026,” Public Works and Highways Secretary Vivencio “Vince” B. Dizon informed the House Appropriations Committee on Wednesday.
He mentioned the DPWH had evaluated the initial proposal and removed P255.53 billion worth of repetitive or completed initiatives in the forthcoming budget.
The DPWH’s suggested financial plan for 2026 has now been diminished to P625.78 billion, 28.9% less than the initial suggestion of P881.31 billion.
Mr. Dizon stated that the allocation for 2026 is the DPWH’s smallest since 2023 when it had a financial plan of P718.35 billion.
“We have put forth our maximum efforts, within the very restricted timeframe available, to ensure that the concerns raised in the previously submitted budget, such as the financing of completed and repetitive initiatives, are thoroughly addressed,” he expressed, adding that P15.77 billion worth of international assistance flood management initiatives were retained for the upcoming year.
Of the P625.78-billion suggested financial plan for the next year, P482.32 billion has been designated for road projects, while P15.77 billion was reserved for international assistance flood management initiatives such as payments to multilateral organizations like the Asian Development Bank and the Japan International Cooperation Agency. An allocation of P94.16 billion was made for other items.
The reduction of DPWH’s financial plan aligns with President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr.’s instruction last week that the agency must perform a “comprehensive review” of its proposed budget for 2026 following alleged irregularities in flood management initiatives.
“We would also like to convey the President’s suggestions to Congress that the financial capacity made available by the P255 billion reduction be instead redirected to programs and initiatives in agriculture, education, healthcare, housing, labor, social welfare, and information technology,” Mr. Dizon remarked.
The DPWH head indicated that the agency is still assessing flood management initiatives and reports. He mentioned that three additional cases related to these anomalous projects would be filed shortly.
The DPWH has presented a list of over 9,000 initiatives finalized between July 2022 and May 2025. Out of these, 160 initiatives have undergone validation, with 15 reported as missing or unaccounted for.
On Tuesday, the DPWH also lifted the two-week suspension on auctions for domestically funded initiatives, emphasizing the necessity to accelerate the implementation of vital infrastructure.
‘MINOR AMOUNT’
Meanwhile, Budget Secretary Amenah F. Pangandaman mentioned that the proposed P255-billion reduction in domestically funded flood management initiatives in the DPWH’s 2026 budget is improbable to impede economic growth and infrastructure investment next year.
“The P200 billion? That’s merely a minor amount. Our infrastructure budget exceeds a trillion, right? It’ll just be slightly less,” she told reporters on Wednesday.
“What matters is that we still proceed with essential initiatives like school buildings, hospitals, and infrastructure that supports our agriculture sector. Hopefully, everything continues to run smoothly.”
The Budget department submitted to Congress a proposed P6.793-trillion National Expenditure Plan for 2026, which is 7.4% higher than this year’s national budget and represents 22% of the nation’s gross domestic product (GDP).
The administration has established a goal for public infrastructure expenditure of 5%-6% of GDP annually.
Ms. Pangandaman stated that all legitimate obligations to government contractors will remain unaffected.
“I believe (Mr. Dizon) is reviewing all existing contracts. Some were paused, but it’s part of the cleansing and review process,” she indicated. “For those that are clean and executed properly, they should continue.”
Nigel Paul C. Villarete, senior advisor on PPP (public-private partnership) at the technical advisory group Libra Konsult, Inc. stated that a thorough evaluation of the DPWH’s budget reduction is essential to ensure that the implementation of necessary infrastructure initiatives will not suffer.
“I believe there needs to be a more profound action on this issue. Flooding is genuine and devastating to numerous places and communities across our nation. Indeed, the corruption in these flood-management projects is apparent and harmful to our country and people, but we can’t simply resolve the issue by eliminating flood management,” Mr. Villarete remarked. — Ashley Erika O. Jose and Aubrey Rose A. Inosante
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