Senators raise defunding questionable DPWH budget items

Metro Manila, Philippines - Citing multiple red flags in the proposed 2026 budget of the Department of Public Works and Highways, senators are exploring ways to defund questionable items, including the possibility of returning the proposal to the agency for revision.

During a Senate briefing with economic managers on Tuesday, Sept. 2, finance committee chairperson Win Gatchalian flagged recurring issues in infrastructure allocations, including:

+ Projects without station numbers, making them difficult to verify;

+ Duplicate or double entries;

+ Projects split into phases or packages;

+ Rounded-off or estimated amounts;

+ Projects listed with vague code names;

+ Reappearance of projects already funded in 2025.

“Hindi siya clerical error, sinasadya itong ganitong panloloko ilagay sa NEP [This is not a clerical error — this kind of deception was deliberately included in the NEP],” Gatchalian said, referring to the National Expenditure Program submitted by the executive to Congress.

Senator Ping Lacson added that ₱50 billion in projects shared the exact costs, raising questions.

The anomalies prompted Senator Bam Aquino to suggest rejecting the DPWH budget entirely. “Let’s refuse to accept this DPWH budget,” he said.

“I know it's an uncommon process, but I think for this year we can make an exception to the process where we return the DPWH budget,” he said.

“You have four months to give it back to us na maayos na, wala nang mga ghost projects, wala na pong mga flood control sa mga lugar na wala namang flooding,” he addressed the executive.

Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman said such a move is outside the usual process, especially since the NEP has been submitted to Congress. She said Secretary Vince Dizon has committed to reviewing the items and proposing amendments during budget hearings.

“Pwede niyo rin naman bawasan din yung level ng DPWH. Kung 800 billion siya ngayon, if you're not comfortable doon sa buong flood control… you can bring it down to P500 billion or P400 billion,” she added.

Senator Loren Legarda said Congress can scrap the DPWH budget entirely, and allow Dizon to propose a supplemental budget. The agency can also issue an errata to correct certain items.

Meanwhile, Gatchalian criticized duplications in the budget, saying it's “common sense” to question them. Pangandaman explained that the Department of Budget and Management does not have the mandate to examine each line item in the DPWH’s 700-page proposal.

“Nakalagay sa budget call na sagot iyan ng DPWH given that they have the expertise and the people to check. Sila rin ang bumababa sa ground with the district engineers [It’s in the budget call that DPWH is accountable for its submissions - they have the expertise and are on the ground with district engineers],” Pangandaman said.

Lacson pointed to deeper systemic issues, blaming corrupt politicians lobbying for insertions long before the budget reaches Congress.

“Pag yung mga [Once] contractors have invaded the House of Representatives and congressmen have invaded the contractor construction business, ito yung outcome,” he said.

Senator Erwin Tulfo likened it to the pork barrel or discretionary funds which the Supreme Court has declared unconstitutional following the multibillion-peso scam by convicted businesswoman Janet Lim Napoles and a number of lawmakers.

“Kasi ang nangyayari ngayon, flood control programs, parang deja vu po ng pork barrel scam ni Napoles [Flood control programs today feel like a déjà vu of the pork barrel scam],” he said.

Finance Secretary Ralph Recto revealed during the hearing that corruption in DPWH flood control projects resulted in an estimated ₱118.5 billion in economic losses from 2023 to 2025.

Separately, Senate President Francis “Chiz” Escudero urged the executive to submit a “negative list” of questionable or non-essential DPWH items to be defunded. He also proposed a possible moratorium on new flood control projects, noting that billions in 2025 allocations remain unspent.