House panel vows to discuss DPWH budget cuts with Romualdez

Committee on public works and highways chairperson and Surigao del Sur 1st District Rep. Romeo Momo sits alongside DPWH Secretary Manuel Bonoan during the panel’s hearing last February 5, 2024. The committee heard grievances from the DPWH regarding budget cuts, which are affecting the agency’s performance. (Photo from Office of Rep. Romeo Momo)

MANILA, Philippines — A House of Representatives committee vowed to bring up with Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez the concerns of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) regarding budget cuts, as it is expected to “greatly affect” many of the agency’s projects.

In a statement, Surigao del Sur 1st District Rep. Romeo Momo said that budgetary limitations were among the concerns presented by the DPWH during the House committee on public works and highways’ hearing on Monday.

Momo, who heads the panel, said the following aspects of DPWH’s operations are affected:

• Preliminary Detailed Engineering
• Road Right of Way
• Official Development Assistance (ODA) Infrastructure Flagship Projects
• Maintenance and Other Operating Expenses (MOOE)

“Indeed, the backbone of an economy is its infrastructure, hence as legislators, we need to ensure that, not only we have relevant laws in support of our infrastructure projects and programs, such as the PPP Code and RROW Bill (HB 6571, amending RA 10752),” Momo told committee members during the briefing at a Mandaluyong hotel.

“But more importantly, the DPWH shall have (a) correct and sufficient budget for its various priority programs and operating expenses,” he added.

According to Momo, it was eventually “resolved by the committee to discuss these concerns with House Speaker Martin Romualdez.”

INQUIRER.net has reached out to the Office of Speaker Romualdez to ask if he had received any message from the committee, but they have not replied as of posting time.

Despite the challenges, Momo praised DPWH for providing the committee with a perspective of the country’s flagship infrastructure projects, saying that it would help the House support the programs of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s administration.

“This briefing did not only apprise everyone as to the status or development of our respective legislative district’s infrastructure projects but it also gave us the total perspective as to where our nation’s infrastructure progress is going in the succeeding years,” he said.

DPWH’s appropriations were heavily scrutinized during the deliberations on the then-proposed 2024 national budget, with lawmakers from both the House and the Senate asking why there were double entries in the list of projects.

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

BH party-list Rep. Bernadette Herrera estimated during the budget hearing last September 2023 that the numerous entries amounted to P4.4 billion.

Public Works Secretary Manuel Bonoan, however, assured the House that the items amounting to P4.4 billion were for 2023, noting that they are working with other government agencies to resolve these issues.

READ: DPWH admits proposed 2024 budget includes projects with multiple allocations 

With reports from Melanie Tamayo, INQUIRER.net trainee