By Brian Campued
Department of Public Works and Highways (DWPH) Sec. Vince Dizon formally asked the House of Representatives to remove the allocations for locally-funded flood control projects in the DPWH’s revised budget proposal for 2026.
Based on a document dated Sept. 15, Dizon said his office had submitted the revised version of their spending plan to the Office of the House Speaker through the Committee on Appropriations.
“The revised budget amounts to P625,784,508,000, which is P255,528,051,000 or 28.99% lower than the originally proposed P881,312,559,000 budget earlier submitted,” Dizon said.
The budget cut came after President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. ordered the cancellation of locally-funded flood control projects for next year, realigning the budget to other priority programs, including education, agriculture, health, housing, infrastructure, ICT, labor, social welfare, and energy.
The Public Works chief said the department had also addressed the issues raised by several lawmakers in the initial version of the budget, such as the funding of completed and duplicate projects.
Since taking office, Dizon has visited various provinces to inspect the national government’s flood control projects, including Bulacan, Oriental Mindoro, and La Union. Some flood control projects were found to be ghost projects, while others were discovered to be substandard.
On Sept. 11, Dizon also filed corruption charges against 20 former and active officials and employees at the DPWH Bulacan 1st District Engineering Office and four private contractors that have links to alleged anomalous flood control projects in Bulacan.
On Tuesday, the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) announced that the Court of Appeals granted its freeze order petition on the assets of the said individuals and corporations, covering 135 bank accounts and 27 insurance policies.
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