Senate panel secures DPWH pledge to scrap non-compliant infrastructure projects

Senator JV Ejercito announced that the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) has agreed to drop all infrastructure projects lacking complete documentation from the proposed 2027 national budget, following red flags over thousands of unvetted additions introduced in the House-approved spending bill.

Ejercito, who chairs the Senate Finance Committee, met Friday with newly appointed DPWH Secretary Giovanni Lopez and former chief Vince Dizon to align on budget priorities and uphold stricter project screening reforms.

In a follow-up letter, Ejercito gave the DPWH until November 3, 2026, to submit complete documentation and justifications for 6,271 infrastructure projects added to the General Appropriations Bill (GAB) transmitted by the House of Representatives. Projects that fail to meet this deadline or lack the required paperwork will be purged before plenary budget debates begin.

A review by the Senate Finance Committee revealed that DPWH infrastructure projects swelled from 11,420 items in the executive branch’s original National Expenditure Program (NEP) to 16,244 in the House-transmitted GAB. Over 6,200 of these newly inserted projects were absent from the original executive submission.

“We need to boost our infrastructure spending, but not at the expense of necessary reforms. Every delayed project carries an economic cost. Even worse, anomalous and poorly vetted projects waste taxpayers’ money, leave vulnerable communities exposed, and erode public trust,” Ejercito said.

The senator previously raised concerns during September budget briefings over 155 flood control projects worth ₱8.2 billion that lacked basic prerequisites, including Certificates of Implementability, Programs of Work (POW), and geotagged site photographs—standards instituted under Dizon’s tenure to ensure project readiness.

Ejercito urged Secretary Lopez to preserve these mandatory pre-funding evaluations.

“Under Secretary Vince Dizon, the DPWH committed to ensuring that all proposed infrastructure projects comply with strict documentary requirements,” Ejercito noted in his letter. “We must continue ensuring public funds go only to projects that are properly justified, implementation-ready, and directly responsive to our constituents.”

Both Lopez and Dizon assured the Senate panel of their full cooperation in weeding out questionable projects. Ejercito added that these screening standards should be permanently codified under Senate Bill No. 2, or the Masterplan for Infrastructure and National Development (MIND) Act, to establish a long-term infrastructure roadmap insulated from political cycles.