By Brian Campued
The proposed budget for flood control projects of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) under the 2026 National Expenditure Program (NEP) will be redirected to other priority sectors, President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. said.
During the Kapihan with the Media before departing Phnom Penh, Cambodia on Tuesday, the President said that while the locally funded portion of the budget worth P225 billion could be reallocated, the remaining P50 billion for foreign-assisted projects must remain.
“We will reappropriate it to education, to health, and other departments that are in need of this funding,” he said.
In his podcast, which aired Monday night, Marcos said that there will no longer be new allocations for flood mitigation projects for next year’s proposed budget, as the P350 billion from 2025 was not fully utilized.
In the media interview, the Chief Executive explained that the ongoing investigations into alleged anomalies and irregularities in flood control works have caused delays in the implementation of the projects, resulting in unused funds.
“There is a budget of 350 billion [pesos] for 2025. Because of all of these allegations, investigations that are occurring, na-delay lahat ‘yan,” he said. “So, hindi matatapos ‘yung 350 billion [pesos] in 2025. So, we will use the continuing appropriation for next year.”
The DPWH is currently reviewing its spending plan, with the revised proposal to be attached to the 2026 NEP through errata and then submitted to Congress for its ongoing budget deliberations.
During Tuesday’s Senate finance committee hearing, Department of Budget and Management (DBM) Sec. Amenah Pangandaman said that as per DPWH Sec. Vince Dizon, the proposed budget of the agency might be trimmed by up to 40%.
-jpv
