Metro Manila, Philippines – Lawmakers have resolved the deadlock over the budget of the controversial Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), agreeing to cut P20.7 billion from the agency’s proposed allocation instead of the P45 billion earlier slashed by the Senate.
The DPWH had delayed the finalization of the national budget during bicameral conference committee (bicam) meetings after Secretary Vince Dizon appealed for the restoration of the P45-billion cut.
On Tuesday, Dizon submitted revised construction materials price data (CMPD), which lawmakers used to determine the extent of overpricing in projects listed under the proposed budget.
On the fourth day of meetings late Thursday, Dec. 17, Senate finance committee chairperson Win Gatchalian said lawmakers determined that P20.7 billion of items were overpriced.
He said the updated DPWH data factored in logistics, hauling, and other related costs on top of raw material prices.
“Confident po ako sabihin na wala nang overpriced na materyales sa loob ng budget na ito,” Gatchalian said.
[Translation: I am confident to say there are no overpriced materials in this budget.]
House appropriations committee chairperson Mika Suansing said lawmakers are trusting the accuracy of the data submitted by the DPWH.
“The CMPD reduction should be applied on a project by project basis. Hopefully during the implementation stage they will be able to do that,” she said.
The executive initially proposed P881.31 billion for the DPWH under the National Expenditure Program. This was reduced to P624.48 billion in the version approved by the House of Representatives and further cut to P570.48 billion in the Senate version. No amount was formally announced during the bicameral meeting, although sources said the allocation stood at P529.6 billion.
The committee also approved the realignment of the bulk of the savings – P16.5 billion – to the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth), bringing its total allocation to P129.7 billion.
The remaining P4.2 billion will go to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Fund, raising its total budget to P32 billion.
Change in timeline
With the major issue resolved, the Senate and House contingents adjourned the meeting at around 2:20 a.m. of Thursday, Dec. 18.
Gatchalian said technical staff requested additional time to prepare documents. The committee report, originally scheduled for ratification by both chambers on Monday, Dec. 22, will now be ratified on Dec. 29.
He said the General Appropriations Bill (GAB) may be transmitted to Malacañang for President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s signature later the same day.
Lawmakers assured the public that the budget will be passed before year-end to avoid a reenacted budget, or the continued implementation of the 2025 General Appropriations Act.
“Ang ginagawa namin ngayon, is synchronized na yung review ng DBM (Department of Budget and Management),” Gatchalian explained.
“As we speak nagmomonitor na sila, so meron na silang real-time numbers,” he added.
[Translation: What we are doing now is a synchronized DBM review. As we speak, they are monitoring, so they have real-time numbers.]
“So rest assured that the executive was given enough time to review the GAB,” Suansing said.
