By Wilnard Bacelonia | Philippine News Agency
The proposed 2026 budget of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) remains at a deadlock in the bicameral conference committee, with lawmakers opting to proceed first with the deliberation of other agencies’ budgets.
Senate Committee on Finance Chairperson Sherwin Gatchalian said Tuesday the Senate has yet to decide on DPWH’s request to restore P45 billion in budget cuts, as the agency only recently submitted revised adjustment factors that still need to be validated and applied across thousands of projects.
“Correct, kaya rin kami medyo tumatagal kasi… ‘yong DPWH sinubmit lang ngayon ‘yung kanilang bagong data,” Gatchalian told reporters in an interview.
He said the revised submission now includes hauling and logistics costs that were not factored into earlier computations, requiring further analysis before any decision can be made.
“Titingnan ko muna ‘yung data kung ano ‘yong lalabas dun sa binigay ng DPWH… I need to apply that to the projects,” he said.
Asked whether the P45-billion reduction would be restored, Gatchalian said no decision has been reached.
Gatchalian confirmed that the DPWH budget remains on hold as of Tuesday.
“For now,” he said, adding that lawmakers are awaiting the results of the ongoing analysis.
As bicameral talks resume, Gatchalian said deliberations will move forward by taking up the budgets of other agencies first, while discussions on the DPWH allocation are temporarily set aside.
“Other agencies muna. Lalaktawan muna ang DPWH,” he said.
Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri said the Senate fully supports the bicameral leadership’s position to remove what it considers “fat” from the DPWH budget, stressing that concerns over overpricing were earlier raised by the executive branch itself, including President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.
He said senators are not inclined to restore the P45 billion cut in full and would only consider adjustments backed by detailed, itemized recomputation.
The Senate, he said, is prepared to delay the passage of the budget, if necessary, to ensure that the final version of the 2026 General Appropriations Act contains no overpriced or excess items and remains aligned with the administration’s anti-corruption drive.
“There’s nothing wrong with that. ‘Yong United States, 120 days yata. Wala silang budget for 120 days. At inayos lahat ng gusot. I’m not saying we will take 120 days, but what I’m saying is, ayusin natin ‘yung budget, ‘di ba? Nakita naman natin, sila na mismo nagsasabing overpriced, tapos ilalagay pa rin natin. Parang hindi naman tayo naaawa sa taumbayan. Parang hindi naman tayo naaawa,” Sen. Zubiri said.
The DPWH budget has emerged as a major sticking point in the bicameral conference on the proposed 2026 General Appropriations Act, after across-the-board reductions based on construction materials price data adjustments prompted the agency to seek partial restoration, raising concerns over project implementation and pricing accuracy. (PNA)
