Marikina City 1st district Rep. Marcelino "Marcy" Teodoro expressed concern after discovering that completed infrastructure projects in his district continued to receive fresh funding under the P6.793-trillion National Expenditure Program (NEP) for 2026.

Teodoro told House of Representatives reporters Friday, Aug. 29 that he had pointed this out to Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Secretary Manuel Bonoan in a recent consultation meeting.

He said one of the completed projects that still received allocation under the 2026 NEP was the slope protection at Balanti Creek, Barangay Sto. Niño in Marikina. It was finished back in 2023.

“Meron ilang item doon na aking napansin at sinabi ko kay Secretary Bonoan na nung 2023 pa lamang ay may project na ginawa slope protection sa Balanti Creek sa Barangay Sto. Niño na tapos na pero nakita ko may item na nakasama doon sa flood mitigation program na gagawin pa ulit… Kaya nasabi ko kay Secretary Bonoan na baka dapat i-clarify ito with the DPWH, baka nagkamali sila sa pag-identify," Teodoro, a former city mayor, said.

(There were a few items I noticed, and I told Secretary Bonoan that as early as 2023, a slope protection project had already been completed at Balanti Creek in Barangay Sto. Niño. But I saw that an item was still included in the flood mitigation program to be implemented again… So I told Secretary Bonoan that maybe this should be clarified with the DPWH, they might have made an error in identifying it.)

He described Bonoan as being surprised with the duplicate entry. Bonoan reportedly sought an explanation from the DPWH-National Capital Region (NCR) regional director.

Teodoro went out to point out that the list of projects in the NEP are "agency-prepared", meaning it came straight from the DPWH and not from congressmen like him.

Aside from having redundant projects, Teodoro said the 2026 NEP also lacked funding for certain continuing infrastructure projects. This includes the drainage project along Sumulong Highway that President Marcos recently inspected with Teodoro and the local government of Marikina.

The returning congressman said this should have been treated as a priority project, since it will receive water coming from Balanti Creek which already has slope protection.

But based on Teodoro's perusal of the NEP, only half of the 361-meter project will be funded next year.

“So it will still be an unfinished project miski na binudgetan para sa isang taon. Kaya nga sinasabi ko kay Secretary Bonoan, dapat siguro na mapagaralang mabuti itong mga ito. Matignan yung data, ma-verify, para kung magpopondo, hindi putol yung proyekto kundi kumpleto na para mapakinabangan," he explained.

(So it will still be an unfinished project even if it’s been budgeted for a year. That’s why I told Secretary Bonoan that these things really need to be studied carefully. The data should be reviewed and verified so that when funding is allocated, the project isn’t left incomplete but is fully implemented and beneficial.)

“Kung ang pagbabudget kulang-kulang tulad na nangyayari dito sa Sumulong Highway… ang pangako ay tatapusin. Pero sa budget, sa NEP, makikita mo ay hindi ganoon, hindi reflective of the promise. Palagay ko ito yung mga dapat itinatama,” he said.

(If the budgeting is insufficient like what’s happening here on Sumulong Highway... the promise is that it will be completed. But when you look at the budget, at the NEP, it doesn’t reflect that promise. I think these are the things that need to be corrected.)

The House of Representatives through the Committee on Appropriations is currently deliberating on the NEP,  which is the precursor to the national budget bill.