The Department of Transportation (DOTr) expects “limited impact” from potential reforms that may emerge from the ongoing investigation into corruption-ridden public infrastructure projects.

The government is currently leading a crackdown on anomalous public works projects, particularly flood control infrastructure, amid escalating public outrage.

Transportation Undersecretary Timothy John Batan stated that the DOTr is fully supportive of the initiative, particularly with the ongoing transparency efforts within the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).

Batan said the outcome of the investigations would likely lead to reforms that would ensure better use of the government’s resources.

“Now, as to whether that ongoing initiative, what could potentially be affected in the DOTr, I would say limited, because our projects are structured very differently,” he said on the sidelines of the Arangkada Philippines Investment Forum 2025.

Batan said projects under the DPWH are mostly locally funded, consisting of smaller infrastructure projects.

Meanwhile, in the DOTr, most projects are either financed with official development assistance (ODA) or public-private partnership (PPP) agreements.

Batan said that under ODAs, there is an additional layer of governance in the form of development partners such as the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the World Bank (WB), who will help scrutinize the projects.

He said this is in addition to the supervision already performed by the Commission on Audit (COA).

For PPPs, Batan noted that there is another oversight through the private partner, and for those publicly listed to a larger extent.

Batan added that since the DOTr undertakes larger projects, they are more prone to wider scrutiny compared to smaller projects in the DPWH.

“From a funding strategy and a contracting strategy perspective, we think that differentiates how we structure things in DOTr, and that's why we think the ongoing initiatives involving our peer agency should have a limited impact on our projects,” he explained.

The DPWH is at the center of a government probe amid allegations of substandard to non-existent projects, as well as a supposedly lavish lifestyle, involving district and regional engineers.

These officials are alleged to be colluding with government officials to take kickbacks from funding that was earmarked for flood control projects critical for a disaster-prone country.

European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines (ECCP) Executive Director Florian Gottien stated that these corruption issues have already eroded the confidence of European investors in the country.

“Some of them are in the construction industry producing materials that are being used for infrastructure projects,” said Gottien in an interview.

“And because of some of those projects that are being put on hold, they have already experienced a reduction in sales. And it might go on for the next couple of weeks or months,” he added.

Gottien said another uncertainty for investors is the likelihood of the probe into flood control infrastructure expanding into other public works projects, potentially impacting other types of businesses.

“I think what's really essential here now is really how fast can the government and the responsible agencies dig into the matter, kind of investigate and then set the next steps,” the official said.

“We also hope that we will see safeguards in place that will prevent similar situations from happening again in the future,” he continued.