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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Infra project planning requirements stricter now, Dizon tells House

Infra project planning requirements stricter now, Dizon tells House

Published Aug 26, 2026 12:06 pm

At A Glance

  • DPWH requires approved programs of work and geotagged site photos for all 2027 NEP projects.
  • COA stresses geotagging as key to fraud audits and ghost project detection.
  • COA issues P158B in notices to DPWH this year and seeks P2.5B for 146 new pre-audit teams.
DPWH Secretary Vince Dizon (left), House of Representatives (Facebook, MANILA BULLETIN)
DPWH Secretary Vince Dizon (left), House of Representatives (Facebook, MANILA BULLETIN)


The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) told House of Representatives members that it has tightened requirements for the planning infrastructure projects as part of reforms following the flood control projects corruption.
DPWH Secretary Vince Dizon led the agency’s contignent in the House Wednesday, Aug. 26 as the Committee on Appropriations carried out the agency's budget briefing under the 2027 National Expenditure Program (NEP).
In his presentation before the solons, Dizon said all projects included in the NEP must have an approved program of work and complete mandatory supporting documents.
The NEP, worth P7.2 trillion for next year, is the precursor to the General Appropriations Bill (GAB) or proposed national budget.
Dizon said these supporting documents include validated geotagged photos taken directly at the project site.
The DPWH head honcho explained that in the past, some projects merely relied on “tabletop coordinates,” using maps or Google Maps instead of actual site visits.
Now, Dizon said DPWH requires project engineers, district engineers, and planning engineers to personally visit sites and take photos with automatic location coordinates to prove field validation.
Commission on Audit (COA) Chairperson Gamaliel Cordoba earlier stressed that geotagging is crucial in fraud audits, since auditors often struggle to locate projects and determine if they are ghost projects.
P51-M notices of disallowance
In an earlier House budget briefing Tuesday, Cordoba shared that COA issued a total of P158 billion in notices to the DPWH this year.
According to him, P107.77 billion are notices of suspension while P51.27 billion are notices of disallowance.
"Of course, iba’t iba na po ang stages nito ngayon dahil may appeal, etc. (these are in different stages because of appeals, etc.) but the total amounts issued for DPWH only for this year is already P150 billion," he told the appropriations panel.
Cordoba says auditing could be strengthened if COA is provided with 146 additional pre-audit teams drawn from audit, technical, and administrative positions.
He estimates that about P2.5 billion would be needed to fund the additional personnel and other expenses of these pre-audit teams.
Cordoba emphasizes that more pre-audit teams would help detect and prevent questionable government spending more promptly. He also notes that additional resources for COA are essential to strengthen oversight of the use of public funds.

Related Tags

DPWH COA Vince Dizon flood control projects 2027 budget NEP Gamaliel Cordoba Geotagging
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