DPWH tops funding boost with ₱1.1-T budget

Metro Manila, Philippines – The Department of Public Works and Highways’ 2025 budget surged to a whopping ₱1.1 trillion after a substantial hike given by lawmakers.

It received ₱288.6 billion more in an election year, making it the single department with the largest budget increase from the bicameral conference committee that reconciled the House and Senate versions of the spending plan.

This amount was added to the ₱825 billion initially approved in the General Appropriations Bill passed by the House, where budget bills originate.

Congress ratified the final version of the bill during in separate sessions on Wednesday.

In the Senate, Minority Leader Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III noted the significant increase in the DPWH budget and requested a written explanation from Senator Grace Poe, chairperson of the committee on finance.

“Napakalaki naman ng idinagdag natin sa Office of the Secretary ng DPWH,” Pimentel said.

“Siguro dito pagdating sa DPWH kung pwede may special request ako kung pwede maidentify how much of these are flood control projects because ‘yan po ‘yung parang sensitive issue of the day,” he added.

[Translation: We’ve added such a huge amount to the Office of the Secretary of the DPWH. Maybe here, when it comes to the DPWH, I have a special request: if it's possible to identify how much of these are flood control projects, because that is the sensitive issue of the day.]

A number of lawmakers have questioned the billions of pesos allocated annually to flood control projects, arguing that these have not been effective in dealing with the flooding problem.

Larger than education budget

The DPWH is now the agency with the largest budget allocation, surpassing the Department of Education, which has ₱737 billion. However, separate funds are allocated to the Commission on Higher Education, the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority, and educational institutions.

The Constitution mandates that the government “shall assign the highest budgetary priority to education.”

Pimentel told NewsWatch Plus that his office is examining whether the DPWH budget exceeds the total funding for the education sector—a potential violation of the Constitution. He said all educational institutions should be considered in the assessment.

Education Secretary Sonny Angara, who chaired the finance committee for several years during his time as a senator, expressed disappointment over the reduction made by the bicam to the DepEd budget.

“Sad to learn that both Houses of Congress have decided to decrease by ₱12 billion the budget the president proposed for DepEd for 2025. This reverses a trend in recent years where Congress adds even more to the education budget (save for one year during pandemic),” Angara said in a tweet.

Other fund increases

Aside from the DPWH, other departments that received a funding increase include Congress, which saw an increase of ₱18.8 billion, with the bulk—₱17.3 billion—allocated to the House of Representatives, the remaining ₱1.1 billion to the Senate. Congress now has over ₱50 billion, with ₱33.7 billion allocated to the House, and ₱13.9 billion to the Senate.

“Their budget is much higher because they are a bigger house, I suppose,” Poe said in plenary.

“There is a reportorial process for us to be able to monitor and audit whatever funding we have placed in some initiatives we feel needs to be safeguarded more profoundly,” she added.

Meanwhile, the Department of National Defense received ₱8.9 billion more, state universities and colleges ₱7.2 billion more, and the Office of the President ₱5 billion more.