Marcos orders DPWH to cut material costs in infra projects by half

Metro Manila, Philippines - President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. ordered the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) to lower material costs in government projects “by as much as 50 percent” to save billions of pesos.

Marcos made the directive before he left for Malaysia on Saturday, Oct. 25, to attend the 47th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit and Related Summits.

“[The] DPWH has looked into the pricing of construction materials and found that several items, like asphalt, steel bar, cement, were overpriced by as much as 50 percent,” he said. “Actually, there are some egregious examples which [are] even more than that.”

He said bringing down the cost of materials will reflect market costs and ensure public funds are correctly spent.

“I have directed the DPWH secretary to bring down the cost of materials by as much as 50 percent which will result in savings in the Capital Outlay spending of at least P30 to P45 billion pesos,” the chief executive said.

“This is money that we can use for services such as health, education, and food that our people desperately need,” he said.

The move was amid the investigation into flood control project anomalies, which has uncovered substandard and ghost or non-existent projects.

Marcos assured the public that the DPWH continues to review projects and contracts.

He also said the agency will file cases against corrupt personnel.

The president said the country is strengthening its bureaucracy to make it “more responsive, accountable, and transparent in serving Filipino people.”

On Friday, the DPWH signed a memorandum of agreement with church and good governance groups to help in monitoring and validating infrastructure projects.

The groups were the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines, Caritas Philippines, Mayors for Good Governance, and Taongbayan’s Action for Participatory, Accountable, and Transparent Governance.