MANILA, Philippines – Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Secretary Vince Dizon made a last-minute appeal to the bicameral conference committee (bicam) to restore nearly P54 billion deducted from his department’s budget due to the reduction in Construction Materials Price Data (CMPD).

Dizon made the appeal before the bicam through a surprise appearance on the second day of the budget deliberations on Sunday, December 14.

According to Dizon, the P54 billion across-the-board cut made on 10,000 DPWH projects will result in underfunded projects that can no longer be implemented.

Dizon explained that the DPWH has ordered the reduction in prices of key construction materials such as asphalt, concrete, steel, and gravel through an updated CMPD. 

However, the cost reduction must be computed per project depending on its Program of Works, which serves as the roadmap for each project. This is where the construction activities, as well as labor, materials, and equipment are detailed.

“Merong mas maraming semento ang gagamitin, merong mas maraming bakal ang gagamitin, may mas maraming graba ang gagamitin. Depende po ‘yan dun sa Program of Work,” he said. (Some projects require more cement, some require more steel, while others require more gravel. It depends on the program of work.)

“Kaya po ‘yung mga presyong ibinaba, kailangan po ‘yan i-apply sa program of work ng iba’t-ibang proyekto.” (So the lower material costs need to be applied to the Program of Work of each project.)

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Instead of applying the budget cuts to the 2026 budget, Dizon suggested that the DPWH be responsible for cutting the budget based on the Program of Works. He cited a department order he issued which requires regional directors and district engineers to apply the reduced CMPD in projects prior to bidding.

Dizon also said that the DPWH offices are not allowed to proceed with procurement without clearance from the central office.

When senators questioned why he appeared to be backtracking on his appeal to reduce the DPWH budget, Dizon assured them that he is not seeking to revive the culture of overpriced projects or make any budget insertions.

Instead, he is asking the bicam to allow the DPWH to apply the cost reduction individually and return any excess funds to the national treasury as savings.

“The rules on savings are very clear. If there are savings, the department declares these as such. And later on, upon approval of the President, these may be used to augment projects…unless, of course, Congress will choose to have a special provision to cover this,” Dizon explained in Filipino.

He added that it is not possible for the DPWH to provide updating project costs with the CMPD already applied since the adjustments need to be applied to 10,000 individual projects. – Rappler.com