Philippine House Eyes Budget Hike for DPWH, Public Transport Funding Questioned

House leaders on Wednesday said they will look to increase the Department of Public Works and Highways’ proposed P643-billion budget for 2027, saying such increase is needed to complete high impact projects, including flood control projects. “There are a lot of projects which need additional investment in the DPWH. These are projects with economic multipliers such as farm-to-market roads, national highways and bridges, as well as inter-provincial and inter-island connectivity projects for the movement of our people and goods,” Surigao del Sur Representative Romeo Momo, chairperson of the House public works and highways panel, said at a press conference. “At the same time, we also need to address the needs of our communities such as health care centers, evacuation centers, and flood control projects. If the flood control project is in accordance with a master plan, a feasibility study and its construction is already underway, those need to be completed first to be effective. We will prioritize those in high-risk areas for flooding. Rest assured that the projects that will be funded are only those we need,” Momo added. Momo said such requirements of a meritorious DPWH project include a Certificate of Implementability, Program of Work, geotagged project-site documentation, appropriate local sanggunian resolutions, among others. Quezon Representative Reynante Arrogancia, vice chairperson of the House appropriations panel, said the additional budget for DPWH will likely come from realignment of allocations under the Department of Transportation, Department of Agriculture, National Irrigation Authority, as well as the Department of Information and Communications Technology and the Metro Manila Development Authority. “We’ll look at their utilitization rate of their respective budget allocation. Kung hindi nila nagagamit ang lahat ng pondo, ibig sabihin kailangan natin itong irealign o gamitin muna sa ibang agency, para magamit ng DPWH o iba pang anumang purpose,” Arrogancia said. (If they are not able to use their budget, it must be realigned to other agencies such as the DPWH for its perusal.) Momo, for his part, said such realignment will only involve agencies that also implement infrastructure projects so as not to compromise other vital government programs such as education and healthcare. “The realigned funds to the DPWH will only come from agencies implementing infrastructure projects. Rest assured that nothing that goes to DPWH will be taken away from education, health, and social services. Hindi gagalawin iyon,” Momo said. (Allocations for those sectors won't be touched.) “We are only going to realign the funds from agencies which, historically, do not have good absorptive capacity rating in implementing infrastructure projects,” Momo added. Zero budget for public transport items Earlier, House Assistant Minority Leader Perci Cendaña of Akbayan flagged the zero allocation for the NCR Busway Project (which includes the EDSA Busway), Service Contracting Program, and the Fuel Subsidy Program under the Department of Transportation’s (DOTr) proposed 2027 budget. “The national budget is the ultimate expression of the President’s priorities and commitments. Kapag malaki ang budget sa isang programa, mataas ang priority. Kapag walang budget, hindi ka priority. Pinapakita lang nitong zero budget na hindi priority ang milyon-milyong commuters at ang libu-libong tsuper at transport workers," Cendaña said in a statement. (When a program has a huge budget, it is high priority. But if there is zero budget, that projects is not a priority. The zero allocation for these projects means that this government do not see the commuters, drivers and other public transport workers as a priority.) The Akbayan lawmaker then warned that removing funding for the programs could worsen the daily commute for millions of Filipinos while increasing the financial burden on public transport workers. “The NCR/EDSA Busway has provided millions of commuters with a faster and more reliable way to get to work, school, and home. Service contracting has helped keep public transport running while supporting drivers and operators especially during times of crises. Fuel subsidies, meanwhile, provide much-needed relief to drivers struggling with fuel price shocks caused by the war in the Middle East. Nakakalungkot naman na kapag usapin ng pagtitipid, ’yung kapakanan ng ating commuters at public transport workers ang tinitipid." "These are not luxuries. These are essential public transport programs that directly affect the daily lives and livelihoods of millions of Filipinos. I hope our colleagues in the House will join us in pushing to restore the requested budgets of these programs," Cendaña added. — RSJ, GMA News