‘Waste of fiscal space’: Senators question multiple entries in DPWH budget

MANILA, Philippines— The issue of multiple fundings for infrastructure projects hounded the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) on Tuesday.

At the hearing of the Senate subcommittee on finance, senators questioned the multiple entries in some of the projects of the DPWH.

One project, for example, was given double allocations of P50 million and P150 million, Senate Minority Leader Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III noted.

Another project, he said, has triple budgets — P58 million, P90 million, and P200 million.

The same multiple fundings were also allotted to some infrastructure projects in Malabon City and Quezon City, Senator Grace Poe said.

DPWH Secretary Manuel Bonoan then repeated what was earlier said in the House of Representatives that multiple entries amount to a total of P4.4 billion for 2023 alone.

“Actually for 2023, we have noted actually a total budgetary outlay P4.4 billion for double, multiple entry projects,” Bonoan said.

And when they referred this matter to the Department of Budget and Management (DBM), Bonoan said they were advised to release one allocation for one project.

“So in the department, if there would be two separate allocations, we have to choose actually the higher allocation for one project and the rest will have to be retained by the Department of Budget and Management,” he explained.

Of the P4.4 billion, Bonoan said P2.8 billion has already been released by the DBM.

The DPWH chief then tried to explain these multiple entries in the budget, saying that some projects are given allocations even if they are not “vetted out in the field.”

Pimentel though clarified that this issue of having multiple budget items is not the agency’s doing.

“Actually, baka nga Congress…sometimes Executive branch, sometimes Congress ang may kasalanan nito. Taga-execute lang kayo,” he said.

Senator Nancy Binay later asked what happened to the unused allocations from the double-funded projects.

Senator Sonny Angara, chairman of the Senate committee on finance, responded to Binay, “It’s actually a waste of fiscal space.”

“I think no one is saying it but that’s what it is, kasi we authorized it pero hindi magagastos ‘yun, so sayang … It’s a waste of fiscal space,” he stressed.

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