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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Dizon halts DPWH project bidding to 'clean house'

Dizon halts DPWH project bidding to 'clean house'

Published Sep 3, 2025 01:08 pm
DPWH Secretary Vince Dizon (Dexter Barro II/MANILA BULLETIN)
DPWH Secretary Vince Dizon (Dexter Barro II/MANILA BULLETIN)
The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) is temporarily suspending bidding for all locally funded infrastructure projects nationwide, as the agency aims to crack down on corruption under its newly appointed secretary, Vince Dizon.
Dizon said the bidding process will undergo a review in compliance with a presidential directive to “clean house” after the DPWH was entangled in anomalous flood control projects.
“He does not want the people’s money and projects to be thrown into the river again,” he said in a press briefing during the turnover ceremony at the Department of Transportation (DOTr) on Wednesday, Sept. 3.
The suspension covers all infrastructure projects under the DPWH, including roads and flood control projects, across its national, regional, and district offices.
Dizon said his agency will work on safeguards for the bidding process within the next two weeks, with such policies expected to be announced as early as next week.
Bidding for foreign-funded projects will continue as planned since these are monitored by the agency’s foreign advisers and partners, he said.
Dizon stressed that he will only be confident that the agency’s projects are corruption-free once these safeguards are in place, noting that “what happened in the past cannot be repeated.”
The DPWH is facing scrutiny from the public after it was discovered that many flood control projects across the country are substandard or, in some cases, non-existent.
President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. earlier vowed that his administration will investigate these projects in lieu of repeated flooding in the country, especially on the backdrop of the typhoon season.
Controversies surrounding the DPWH’s role in these issue-ridden flood control infrastructure prompted former secretary Manual Bonoan to abruptly resign, mere days after saying he would not do so.
Dizon, who was tapped from the Department of Transportation (DOTr), emphasized that the DPWH will no longer allow substandard infrastructure and the so-called ghost projects.
In this regard, he also announced that the DPWH will request an immigration lookout bulletin order (ILBO) for government officials and executives of construction companies allegedly involved in problematic flood control projects.
In a document shared with the media, Dizon announced 26 DPWH officials and contractors, including contractors Curlee and Sarah Discaya.
An ILBO directs the Bureau of Immigration (BI) to monitor potential domestic or foreign travel of these individuals under investigation by the Senate and the House of Representatives.
“So this is all part of the President's directives to hold people to account and to make sure that the department is cleansed from these people who have, unfortunately, not taken care of the people's money,” said Dizon.
Tasked with overhauling an embattled agency, Dizon also said that he will meet with former secretaries of the DPWH to hear their insights.
Dizon said he is set to meet with former secretaries Jose “Ping” De Jesus, Rogelio “Babes” Singson, and Mark Villar.
De Jesus served as DPWH chief under former president Corazon Aquino, while Singson held the same post during the administration of former president Benigno Aquino III.
Villar, currently a senator, was the secretary during the administration of former President Rodrigo Duterte.
Dizon and Villar were among the key officials of Duterte’s "Build, Build, Build" program.

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Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Vince Dizon
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