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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Over P400B in DPWH projects hang in the balance as bicam members race to resolve Dizon's budget restoration request

Over P400B in DPWH projects hang in the balance as bicam members race to resolve Dizon's budget restoration request

Published Dec 16, 2025 08:01 am  |  Updated Dec 16, 2025 01:17 pm

At A Glance

  • The head of the House contingent to the Bicameral Conference Committee on the 2026 national budget has warned that unresolved differences in the allcoation of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) could stall over P400 billion in infrastructure projects and negatively impact economic growth, employment, and public services.
(MANILA BULLETIN)
(MANILA BULLETIN)
The head of the House contingent to the Bicameral Conference Committee on the 2026 national budget has warned that unresolved differences in the allcoation of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) could stall over P400 billion in infrastructure projects and negatively impact economic growth, employment, and public services.
According to Nueva Ecija 1st district Rep. Mikaela Angela "Mika" Suansing, the issue is not whether to remove overpriced components, but how cost reductions are applied.
With the Dec. 22 deadline for the ratification of the P6.793-trillion General Appropriations Bill (GAB) fast appoaching, Suansing underscored the need for a workable approach that does not render projects unimplementable.
On Tuesday, Dec. 15--the supposed third day of the livestreamed budget bicam deliberations--the Senate contingent was nowhere to be found at the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC), where the talks were being held.
This was a day after the lawmakers clashed over DPWH Secretary Vince Dizon request to reverse the P45-billion cuts imposed by the Senate on the House version of the agency’s budget.
"Lahat po kami, we recognize that there are overpriced items as initially estimated by the DPWH. At lahat din po merong paninindigan na gusto natin na tanggalin ang overpriced na bahagi na nakapaloob doon sa mga estimates ng mga proyekto,” Suansing said.
(All of us recognize that there are overpriced items as initially estimated by the DPWH. And all of us also stand firm that we want to remove the overpriced portions contained in the project estimates.)
Senators have stood by the reductions, which House lawmakers believe—if applied wholesale—could make close to 10,000 projects worth an estimated P400 billion unimplementable.
Suansing said the potential impact has already been quantified. “Siguro po kinwantify naman po natin kahapon (Sunday) 9,900 projects affected with a total amount of P406 billion,” she said.
(We quantified yesterday [Sunday], maybe 9,900 projects affected with a total amount of P406 billion will be affected.)
“If we assume the 25 percent of these projects will become unimplementable, that’s already P101 billion wasted that would have been implemented in the right way," explained the Harvard-educated solon.
Dizon warned of the potential unimplementability of these projects in his presentation to the bicam last Sunday, which was contentious to say the least in this late stage of the budget process.
Suansing said stalled infrastructure spending would have ripple effects across the economy, the labor market, and local communities.
“Kailangan natin na infrastructure spending ngayon para ma-accelerate ‘yung growth natin sa GDP (gross domestic product). Nakita naman po natin anong nangyari noong tinigil ‘yung mga proyekto, marami pong nawalan ng trabaho.”
(We need infrastructure spending now to accelerate our GDP (gross domestic product) growth. We have also seen what happened when the projects were stopped, a lot of people lost their jobs.)
The Nueva Ecija legislator said the House is pushing for a workable and transparent "best way forward" that removes overpriced components without derailing projects already programmed for implementation.
She stressed that discussions should continue openly and collectively to arrive at a solution. “Mas maganda po sana na lahat kami nasa iisang lugar para po talakayin ang mga katanungan… mas maganda na matalakay namin ‘yun.”
(It would have been better if all of us were in one place to discuss the questions… it would be better if we could tackle them.)
“Every single day is crucial for our technical teams to be able to finish the bill. It’s really from a practical perspective na kailangan po namin ng oras para tapusin at most especially puliduhin talaga (It's really from a practical perspective that we need time to finish and, most especially, to thoroughly refine everything)," she noted.
"It’s taking time away from the crucial step of finishing and verifying and reviewing the enrolled bill and the bicam report," Suansing said.
On Modnay night, Suansing told reporters that Committee on Finance Chairperson Senator Sherwin Gatchalian personally committed to her that the bicam talks would resume Tuesday, Dec. 16.
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