DPWH still seeks flood control budget for ’26

A leader at the House of Representatives on Friday flagged the proposed P881.3-billion budget of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) for 2026, accusing it of containing funding for flood control projects that have already been completed.

Deputy Speaker Ronaldo Puno, however, told reporters in a briefing that such a blunder should not be solely blamed on the DPWH, but also on the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) which reviews the National Expenditure Program (NEP) before submitting it to Congress.

The NEP is the President’s proposed budget submitted by the DBM to Congress for approval. It serves as the basis for the budget bill, which becomes the General Appropriations Act when enacted.

Citing Marikina Rep. Marcy Teodoro, Puno said all the proposed flood control projects of the DPWH in Teodoro’s district outlined in the NEP had been completed.

However, the item for the Pasig-Marikina River Channel Improvement Project Phase IV, recently inspected by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., has a zero allocation despite the construction still ongoing.

“Why put [in a budget] if it’s already finished? What if it gets approved without anyone reading it? Who will implement it? The agency, of course. It’s like hitting the lottery because they don’t have to execute the projects, but the budget still lands in their hands,” Puno said in Filipino.

In his district in Antipolo, Puno said flood control projects in Barangays Mayamot, Muntindilaw, and Mambugan also received no allocations despite being priority projects and still having continuing appropriations.

On top of that, the lawmaker said a project with a price tag of P100,000,000 suddenly appeared in the NEP, replacing the original line item intended for the Mayamot National High School, which is prone to flooding.

Puno said he has no qualms about accusing the DPWH of messing up the budget, citing an instance where a project supposedly receiving P70 million suddenly ended up receiving only P1 million.

Sought for clarification, Puno told DAILY TRIBUNE that he “will be investigating a possible collusion between the DBM and the DPWH during the budget process on all DPWH projects.”

The lawmaker said the DBM is equally liable for the blunders.

Deliberations on the P6.793-trillion proposed national budget for 2026 began in the House last week.

Despite the alleged anomalies in the flood control projects, the DPWH remains the second agency to receive the lion’s share of next year’s budget with P881.3 billion, next to the education sector with P1.224 trillion.