Senate President Vicente “Tito” Sotto III has filed a measure seeking to strengthen the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) by reorganizing and rationalizing the powers and functions of its central, regional and district offices.

Senate President Vicente "Tito" Sotto III (Senate PRIB photo)

Sotto said passage into law of Senate Bill No. 1835 will strengthen transparency, efficiency and accountability in public infrastructure governance, as it plays a vital role in nation-building.

The Senate leader filed the measure in light of the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee’s hearings on the anomalous flood control projects and is also expected to undergo committee deliberations in the coming weeks.

“As one of the departments receiving the largest budget allocations, Filipinos rightfully expect that every peso entrusted to the DPWH translates into safe, resilient, and responsive infrastructure,” Sotto said.

SB No. 1835 primarily revisits the DPWH’s mandate, powers, organizational structure and operational framework, including the functions of its undersecretaries and assistant secretaries.

According to Sotto, it is imperative to revisit the organization of DPWH to identify where the gaps are and where opportunities for corruption may lie.

“Through a rationalization of this department and its regional and district offices, we can ensure that corruption will no longer seep into its walls,” he explained.

Under the bill, the Department proper will be reorganized according to the key infrastructure projects under its mandate to decentralize project preparation and implementation and reduce opportunities for irregularities and delays.

The bill also introduces the creation of the Infrastructure Maintenance Services Unit which would be in charge of inspecting, monitoring, and evaluating completed projects and maintaining a centralized and publicly accessible infrastructure database to enhance transparency and allow citizens to track DPWH projects.

Also, regional offices will be tasked to undertake key functions previously handled at the district level, including project identification and bidding processes; district offices will focus on supervision, monitoring, and recommendatory functions to strengthen oversight on the ground.

The bill also seeks to include the creation of an Infrastructure Inspectorate Team which will be tasked to live stream DPWH inspections in the official channels for transparency.

“This measure is about restoring public trust by rationalizing functions, strengthening monitoring mechanisms, and institutionalizing transparency to ensure that the people’s taxes are spent efficiently, honestly, and for the public good,” Sotto said.