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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider 'Wala': DPWH chief Dizon flatly denies Bonoan's 'leadership fund' claim

'Wala': DPWH chief Dizon flatly denies Bonoan's 'leadership fund' claim

Published Aug 26, 2026 04:13 pm

At A Glance

  • DPWH Secretary Vince Dizon denies former secretary Manuel Bonoan's claim of a P500‑million "leadership fund" for senators, stressing that projects are strictly based on need and complete requirements.
  • Dizon enumerated five mandatory project requirements: Program of Works, geo‑tagged photos, DBM compliance, certificate of implementability, and masterplan/feasibility study or equivalent endorsements.
  • He says the DPWH cut its 2027 project target to 11,395 from over 20,000 in prior years, aiming to prevent duplicate projects and focus on larger‑scale infrastructure.
DPWH Secretary Vince Dizon (Ellson Quismorio/ MANILA BULLETIN)
DPWH Secretary Vince Dizon (Ellson Quismorio/ MANILA BULLETIN)


Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Secretary Vince Dizon has denied his predecessor Manuel Bonoan's allegation that there is a "leadership fund" in the agency’s 2027 budget.
"Wala, wala (There's none, none)," Dizon told House reporters.
The Cabinet member made the clarification on the sidelines of the House Committee on Appropriations' briefing on the DPWH's P643.95-billion budget, as indicated under the P7.2-trillion National Expenditure Program (NEP).
Former DPWH seceratry Bonoan revealed earlier this month that all senators in the previous 19th Congress allegedly availed themselves of at least P500 million each from the "leadership fund" under the DPWH.
Bonoan, who is facing a graft charge at the Sandiganbayan, said the funds were used to accommodate the senators' pet projects. There are 24 senators.
Dizon says such set-up isn't allowed. "Ang mga projects po natin dito ay based, gaya ng sinabi ko, based on need (Our projects here are based, as I said, based on need)."
"At hindi lang based on need, kailangan kumpleto yung requirements. Kung wala yung limang requirements na pinakita ko kanina, hindi pwedeng ipasok sa budget,
(And not just based on need, the requirements must be complete. If the five requirements I showed earlier are missing, it cannot be included in the budget)," he said.
The five project requirements, which Dizon enumerated in his presentation before appropriations panel, were as follows:
1. Approved Program of Works (POW)
2. Validated geo-tagged photos
3. Budget Preparation (BP) 202 Compliance (DBM requirement)
4. Certificate of Implementability, and
5. Masterplan or feasibility study, or its equivalent local plans, or endorsement or certification from the Regional Development Councils (RDC)/Local Development Councils (LDC), or Certificate of Non-Objection
Number of infra projects down
Also during the hearing, Dizon said the DPWH has reduced the number of infrastructure projects it plans to undertake in 2027.
During the discussions on the agency’s proposed outlay next year, Dizon said that the target number of projects has gone down to 11,395 from the usual 20,000 or more.
He said this was part of the DPWH’s reforms to prevent “duplicate and overlapping projects” and to focus more on big-ticket or larger-scale projects.
By comparison, in 2024 and 2025, when the DPWH had a budget of nearly P1 trillion, the number of projects exceeded 25,000 each year.
Meanwhile, there are 17,861 infrastructure projects in 2026.

Related Tags

DPWH Vince Dizon Manuel Bonoan Leadership fund 2027 budget
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