Only 22 classrooms has been completed this year by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) out of the 1,700 targeted for 2025, DPWH Secretary Vince Dizon disclosed on Monday, October 20.
During a Senate finance committee hearing on the DPWH’s proposed budget, Dizon reported that 882 classroom projects are still on construction, while another 882 have yet to begin — a “very deplorable” performance rate of just 15.43%.
“It’s October, secretary. My heart aches to hear that only 22 classrooms were [built],” Senator Bam Aquino lamented.
“If we continue at this pace, our 146,000-classroom backlog could balloon up to 200,000 by 2028,” he added.
Aquino voiced disappointment that education infrastructures continue to be overlooked despite the government’s massive spending on public works.
He urged that the responsibility of constructing classrooms be turned over from the DPWH to local government units (LGUs) through his proposed Classroom Acceleration Bill.
“What we intend to do is remove this responsibility on the DPWH because you’re already burdened with other project,” Aquino explained. “Funds should be downloaded directly on LGUs for school construction.”
Dizon welcomed the proposal, saying, “We are in full support [of this] measure. Only 22 classrooms have been [built] this year — we really need help.”
He added that the government must also pursue an aggressive public-private partnership (PPP) program to fast track classroom construction.
According to Dizon, at the current rate, it would be “virtually impossible” for the DPWH alone to meet the national classroom target.
Meanwhile, Education Secretary Sonny Angara likewise backs the initiative, emphasizing that the Department of Education (DepEd) seeks more flexibility under the General Appropriations Act to allow LGUs, non-government organizations (NGOs), and private partners to helps build classrooms, particularly in far-flung areas.
Budget scrutiny and red flags
Finance committee chair Senator Sherwin Gatchalian warns that the DPWH could lose more than half of its P625-billion proposed budget after the committee flags thousands of questionable projects worth P271 billion, along with P70 billion in alleged overpriced projects for 2026.
“The potential cut is P348 billion,” Gatchalian said, adding that the committee found 6,817 projects with transparency and accountability issues in the DPWH’s updated list submitted to the House-approved General Appropriations Bill.
Among the flagged items were 4,566 road projects worth P201 million that lacked coordinates or station numbers, making their verification impossible.
Gatchalian also revealed 40 duplicated projects worth more than P1 billion, including a multipurpose building in Muntinlupa City that had both “construction” and “rehabilitation” funds amounting to P40 million in the same year.
“So there was construction and rehabilitation of the same building on the same year? I find this preposterous,” he said in Filipino.
The DPWH had previously resubmitted 14,670 projects worth P566 billion through errata at the House of Representatives.
Dizon admitted the senators’ concerns was valid, promising a full validation of the projects. “I will instruct our implementing unit to validate and indicate station number,” he said, adding that the department already begin cleaning up its project list.
Gatchalian directed the DPWH to submit missing project details by October 27 before the committee begin budget reconciliation. The hearing, which runs for over eight hours, was suspended pending the submission of the revised list.
30% budget cut proposed
Meanwhile, Senator Loren Legarda said lawmakers are considering an across-the-board 25 to 30 percent budget cuts on all DPWH infrastructure line items to address systemic overpricing.
The earlier plan was to trim only 15 to 20 percent.
“In light of the systemic overpricing revealed by recent corruption scandals, would the good secretary and his new team consider it reasonable and technically sound to [implement] an across-the-board reduction?” Legarda asked.
“How can we, in conscience, sign off an overpriced budget?” she added.
Dizon acknowledged the issue, saying the agency’s initial study confirms overpricing in several regions.
“Clearly, there is overpricing. Some projects are overpriced by more than 20 percent — even beyond 30 percent in some regions,” he said.
He added that the DPWH is now conducting regional review of material costs and project valuations and would issue recommendations in the coming week.
“This must be applied immediately, especially on projects still under procurement,” Dizon said.
Aquino supported Legarda’s proposal, saying the Senate is prepared to slash the DPWH’s budget by 20 to 25 percent if the agency fails to justify or redesign inflated project costs.
“If there are substandard, overdesigned, or overpriced projects, we cannot in good conscience approve that budget,” he said. “Let’s take out the fat.”
Calls for budget reallocation
Senator JV Ejercito recommended redirecting a portion of the P250-billion flood control fund toward large-scale flood management projects under the Central Luzon Floodway Master Plan, which the Asian Development Bank (ADB) aims to finalize by August 2026.
He explained that the amount, which President Marcos had earlier transferred from the DPWH’s original P881-billion proposed budget to other agencies, should instead be used for major infrastructure projects like floodways, dams, water impounding facilities, and spillways to strengthen the country’s flood control effort.
“We cannot let our people continue to drowned in the next two or three years because there are no flood control projects,” Ejercito said.
Dizon agreed, saying future flood control efforts must strictly follows master plans to prevent “wasteful and anomalous” spending.
DPWH reorganization and personnel updates
Earlier that day, Dizon announced the appointment of DPWH Bureau of Designs Director Lara Marisse Inguito-Esquibil as Officer-in-Charge of the National Building Code Development Office and Operations for External Convergence Programs. Esquibil replaces Arrey Perez, who abruptly resign.
In his address during the flag-raising ceremony at the DPWH central office in Manila, Dizon also announced plan to fill nearly 2,000 vacant plantilla positions, prioritizing internal promotion.
“Our priority is to promote from within — the deserving, honest, and hardworking employees already in the DPWH, including job order and contractual worker,” Dizon said.
He praised Esquibil as a product of the Cadet Engineering Program launch in 2013 under former Secretary Rogelio Singson. “I learned this morning that she was part of the first batch of the Cadet Engineering Program,” Dizon shared.
Malacañang rejects calls to abolish DPWH
Meanwhile, Malacañang dismissed Senator Gatchalian’s proposal to abolish the DPWH amid corruption allegation.
“Not all government officials in the DPWH have committed wrongdoing,” said Presidential Communications Undersecretary Claire Castro.
“There are still many public servants fulfilling their duty,” she further added.
She added that the government’s focus should be on cleansing the agency from erring personnel rather than dismantling it.
“Right now, we haven’t considered [to abolish] the DPWH. What we need to do is remove those who [are] involved in corruption,” Castro said.
