House special panel hikes public works’ proposed 2027 funding by P11B

MANILA, Philippines — A sub-committee of select lawmakers hiked the Department of Public Works and Highways’ (DPWH) proposed budget by P11.49 billion, with the bulk of the additional funding directed toward road development projects across the country.

The Budget Amendments Review Sub-committee (BARSc) lodged an extra P6.91 billion to the DPWH’s National Roads program, alongside P175.87 million for National Bridges and P307.5 million for national building.

Surigao del Sur Rep. Romeo Momo, Sr., who introduced the amendments, said the budgetary realignments are needed as “infrastructure spending is proven to be the biggest economic driver.”

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He said that construction firms had wound down their operations due to limited infrastructure spending following the fallout of a massive corruption scheme tied to problematic flood control works, affecting employment.

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“There are so many construction companies that have stopped, and there are big corporations that downsized their current employment,” Momo said.

READ: House special panel boosts DOH assistance program, infra projects

Lawmakers also realigned P4.08 billion to the DPWH’s Convergence and Special Support Program (CSSP), a cross-cutting, multi-sectoral funding category that finances infrastructure priorities.

Momo said the DPWH also plans to request special provisions that would be added in the budget bill that could allow the agency to “speed up the implementation of projects.”

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Such provisions “will allow them to modify if there are errors in the printing of data in the attached project,” he said.

The budget realignments approved by the sub-committee must still be endorsed by the full House Appropriations Committee before advancing to the floor for second reading, where lawmakers are expected to debate how the panel prioritized funding increases amid tight fiscal limits.

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The House aims to pass the proposed P7.2-trillion budget bill on final reading by Oct. 9. /cb