Deadlock on DPWH budget stalls bicam

MANILA, Philippines — Bicameral talks on the proposed 2026 national budget hit a deadlock and were postponed yesterday after senators refused to back down on P45 billion worth of cuts to what they described as overpriced public works items, Senate finance committee chair Sherwin Gatchalian announced.

Speaking to reporters after a Senate caucus, Gatchalian said the chamber decided to defer the bicameral conference committee meeting to allow time to resolve budget cuts for the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).

“On the Senate side, I called my counterpart (in the House of Representatives) and relayed the Senate’s decision, because the Senate is firm that we are against overpriced items,” he told reporters.

“We can call it a deadlock on that aspect, but we are looking for a solution,” he added.

When the bicam tackled the DPWH budget Sunday night, senators and congressmen were in a standoff regarding the cuts, with the former insisting on the reductions and the latter warning of economic losses once the P45-billion cut renders 10,000 public works projects “unimplementable.”

In what was called by several senators as an unprecedented development, Public Works Secretary Vince Dizon was allowed to bargain with the Senate during Sunday night’s bicam, wherein he said senators made wrong computations for the cuts.

He said the Senate made cuts across-the-board instead of per project, noting how each project has different specifications and circumstances.

Gatchalian said he has yet to understand what Dizon meant and that he would coordinate with the DPWH yesterday to understand the agency’s claim.

He also clarified that the Senate’s P45-billion cut was based on DPWH’s own data, not the chamber’s computations.

Despite the impasse, Gatchalian said the Senate is trying to strike a balance between preventing overpricing and ensuring that projects remain feasible.

Meanwhile, House appropriations committee chair Mikaela Suansing said the lower chamber wants to continue the proceedings even without their Senate counterparts.

“On the part of the House, we will adhere. Our colleagues are on their way here (PICC). As far as the House is concerned, we want to push through with the bicam today. Technically, we can’t continue,” she told reporters.

“Senator Win says we’re working on it, finding solutions on the matter. We will also confer with the DPWH officials as to the best way forward. We will continue to work on it, this is definitely not deadlock that is unresolvable, we’re working on it to pass the budget on time,” Suansing stressed.

Admitting that they have now fallen behind schedule, Gatchalian said the budget is still on track for approval before the end of the year.

He said senators are open to extending workdays if needed, including sessions on Dec. 23 or 24, but not on Christmas Day, and are also prepared to resume work on Dec. 26.

No dice

The Senate leadership, meanwhile, said the chamber would not agree to return the DPWH budget cuts.

In an ambush interview, Senate President Vicente Sotto III said senators would stand by the Senate’s position on the DPWH budget, stressing that the cuts were based on figures provided by the executive branch itself.

“They made a mistake,” Sotto said when asked if the Senate would allow the DPWH budget to be restored.

Asked if the Senate would fight for its position, he replied, “Yes. We already have an understanding what needs to be done, Sen. Gatchalian will take charge.”

Sotto added that the deadlock will continue until Dizon admits to errors in the computation that led to the removal of the P45 billion.

Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo Lacson said Dizon had earlier been “very emphatic” about reducing project costs by around 25 percent, but questioned why he is now seeking reconsideration.

“We will not budge because we did not make a mistake. We just took the lead based on their pronouncement,” he added.

Lacson also described as “wrong” and “unprecedented” Dizon’s presence at the bicam.

“Why did they invite a department secretary in the bicam? That is unprecedented. It seems as if we went back to committee hearings,” Lacson told “Storycon” on One News yesterday.

He maintained that the bicam meeting should only be between the contingents from the Senate and the House of Representatives that were tasked to reconcile differing provisions in their versions of a proposed law.

While the DPWH issue remains unresolved, Sotto also addressed concerns over the controversial increase in funding for the Medical Assistance to Indigent and Financially Incapacitated Patients (MAIFIP), saying the intent is to expand access to health care, not to create a new form of pork barrel.

Sotto said the plan is to allow indigent patients to access private hospitals, particularly in areas where government hospitals are overcrowded or unavailable.

On farm-to-market roads (FMRs), another contentious item, Lacson said the Senate is pushing for special provisions to prevent abuse.

Marcos up to speed

President Marcos has been made aware of the DPWH’s request to restore the P45 billion slashed by the Senate, following Dizon’s consultation with the Chief Executive, Malacañang said yesterday.

“The DPWH already has requested budget and it so happens that this budget was cut in the Senate… Around 10,000 projects will not be fulfilled if they further reduce the budget requested by the DPWH,” Presidential Communications Undersecretary Claire Castro said.

New officials

As part of his promise to do a clean sweep of the agency, Dizon has appointed a new set of officials for the DPWH’s Bulacan first district engineering office, with Kenneth Fernando as officer-in-charge district engineer and Paul Lumabas as OIC assistant district engineer.

Likewise, DPWH Assistant Secretary for regional operations in Luzon Rommel Tello has been named concurrent regional director for Central Luzon, replacing Roseller Tolentino, who retired yesterday.

Tolentino was among the DPWH officials included in an immigration lookout bulletin order as part of the ongoing probe of the flood control mess.

Dizon visited the Bulacan first DEO yesterday in the City of Malolos and held a meeting with the newly installed district engineers.

“We will give them full support. It’s symbolic of the changes that we want to make – that the President wants to make in the DPWH,” Dizon said of the leadership change in the Bulacan office – previously headed by dismissed district engineers Henry Alcantara and Brice Hernandez.

Dizon also inspected several flood control projects in the province, including a dike in Calumpit town that has a 770-meter gap due to corruption.

“Cases will proceed, but we cannot wait for them to finish before fixing this. You know how long cases take in the Philippines. This cannot wait anymore,” he said. —  Helen Flores, Ramon Efren Lazaro, Rainier Allan Ronda, Delon Porcalla, Janvic Mateo