Camarines Sur, Philippines – Public Works Secretary Vince Dizon has ordered regional and district offices to hold off on the implementation of repair works on the Maharlika Highway this year, pending a master plan for the overhaul of the country’s longest road network.
Dizon made the announcement on Friday, Jan. 16, after encountering rough road from Quezon to Bicol during his bus trip with DPWH officials and personnel and the media.
The secretary said district and regional offices with funding for Maharlika Highway under the 2026 budget should pause on procurement activities.
“Ang gusto natin dito…bubuhusan na natin ito nang malaki this year and next year. So we will consolidate the funding,” Dizon said in a press briefing.
[Translation: What we want here is that we will provide this huge funding this year and next. We will consolidate the funding.]
He said the agency will also tap savings last year for the rehabilitation.
Dizon earlier said the Maharlika overhaul has an initial budget of P16 billion.
He added that big-ticket contractors should take over once the project is up for bidding.
“Hindi na pwede ‘yung mga maliliit na kontratista. Gagawa ng isang maiksing segment, tapos ibang kontratista na naman, gagawa ng isang maiksing segment,” he said.
[Translation: Small contractors are no longer feasible. For example, one contractor will do one segment, then another would be in charge of the other.]
The DPWH chief said his agency will also tap Japanese partners to consult on the design for the rehabilitation.
Temporary fix
Meanwhile, Dizon said he instructed his team to find a temporary fix for the Quezon to Bicol segment for the Holy Week break — or the peak of travel to the regions — pending the final rehabilitation plan.
“Yung lubak lubak at masasamang parte, [for rough roads and worst segments] I’m asking Undersecretary Lara (Esquibuil) to find a temporary solution just to make the ride a little smoother,” said Dizon, pertaining to DPWH’s officer-in-charge for technical services and operations, who joined the inspection.
Dizon also gave a firm deadline on the reblocking works he flagged during the inspection, saying it must be completed before the Holy Week that begins on March 29.
He assured the public that work will begin before the rainy season in June.
He said only the damaged portions of the road network will undergo rehabilitation.
After seeing the situation in Quezon and Bicol, Dizon announced that he will inspect next the portions in Samar, where road conditions are supposedly worse.
