DPWH to rewrite budget in two weeks

Manila, Philippines – The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) will come up with a rewritten budget in two weeks pruned and clear of questionable flood control projects while meeting the congressional timetable to avoid a reenacted budget, two Cabinet officials said.

Emerging from a joint agency meeting with Public Works Secretary Vince Dizon, Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman told a media briefing Wednesday evening, Sept. 3, that the calendar points to a likelihood that Congress can still avoid a budget deadlock in the rush to introduce changes in the national expenditure program.

The session adjourns on Oct. 4 to Nov. 9. The House of Representatives should approve the budget bill before that so that the Senate can tackle it when session resumes. Congress should pass the General Appropriations Bill before the Christmas break on Dec. 19, and send it to the president for enactment and a new budget in place by Jan. 1.

“I think kaya. If you look at the calendar, may oras pa tayo,” Pangandaman said.

[Translation: I think it’s doable. If you look at the calendar, we still have time.]

The timetable was announced shortly after President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. ordered the DPWH to introduce changes in its budget proposal in the wake of the flood control controversy.

Dizon said lawmakers can tackle the proposals of other agencies, while waiting for the revised DPWH budget.

Asked if declaring an “errata” on the budget is an option for the DPWH, Dizon and Pangandaman said they just want the agency to follow the president’s directive.

“‘Wag na tayong masyado sa terminology. Simple lang ito,” Dizon said.

“Hindi na tayo kelangan ma-bog down sa pangalan o nomenclature,” he added.

[Translation: Let us not dwell on terminology. This is simple. We do not need to be bogged down by nomenclature.]

Changes to the DPWH funding would be the agency’s call, Pangandaman said, although she did not elaborate on implications to the overall P6.79-trillion national budget for next year.

Pangandaman said a reenacted budget - should Congress face an impasse  - will harm the economy’s growth trajectory already facing risks from Trump tariffs and an end to the monetary easing cycle.

“Di ‘yan unprecedented - alam natin nangyayari ang reenacted budget,” said the Budget chief, who also sits in the interagency Development Budget Coordination Committee that decides the annual macroeconomic targets.

[Translation: That is not unprecedented. We know that a reenacted budget is a possibility.]

“Dito sa DBM ready na ang guidelines assuming magkaroon ng reenacted budget. Pero syempre ang reenacted budget magko-cause ng downturn ng ekonomiya… Ayaw naman natin 'yun na masira ang trajectory,” Pangandaman pointed out.

[Translation: We, at DBM, have readied the guidelines assuming we will end up with a reenacted budget. But of course, that could trigger an economic downturn… we want to keep the economy’s trajectory.]