Puno slams DPWH, DBM for ‘disregarding budget process’

Antipolo Representative Ronnie Puno on Monday revealed that their National Expenditure Program (NEP) is full of questionable items instead of priority flood control projects they had requested.

Speaking in an interview, Puno shared how the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) budget briefing in Congress put the representatives in dismay as they looked at their NEP, including Antipolo 2nd District Representative Romeo Acop and Marikina Representative Marcy Teodoro, who planned to just "return the budget to the DPWH. “Eh sabi niya lahat ng nilalagay na mga projects tapos na ito, (She said, because all of the items here are already done),” he said.

In Puno's case, he shared the same thing happened, "Parang yung mga proyekto na nilagay doon ng district engineer naming alinsunod sa master plan ng flood control program ng area namin nawala rin lahat tapos napalitan ng mga project na hindi ko naman alam kung saan galing, wala namang nag-request noon so parang kataka-taka talaga (The projects placed there by our district engineer in line with the master plan of our area’s flood control program also disappeared. They were replaced with projects that I don’t even know where they came from, and no one even requested them. So it’s really quite puzzling)," he shared.

He further revealed that even party leaders experienced the same issue. "Ang lalalakas ng loob talaga grabe! Binalewala na yung budget process (They really have the nerve, unbelievable! They totally disregarded the budget process)," he angrily stressed.

Puno highlighted that the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) and the DPWH are just cleaning their names despite the fact that they are the agencies involved in the budget process. "Turuan nang turuan yan eh (They are passing blames)," he said, further likening them to stenographers, explaining that the budget should have reached Congress directly if they do not study the budget that goes through them.

Puno explained that they submit the budget to DBM around December–January and the agency has until March to check it, but it reaches Congress only after the SONA. "So ibig mo sabihin mula Enero hanggang July nakatengga lang sa mga opisina nila yan, walang tumitingin dun kasi nasubmit na? (It means from January to July, it was just stocked in their office without anyone seeing it because it was already submitted?),” he raised.

Unlike previous years where only minor corrections or ‘errata’ were made, he shared some adjustments after reviewing the NOAH hazard map, including an allocation of P100B to non-flood-prone areas and cutting the budget of the high-risk areas from P250 billion to only P150 billion. Because of this, the Appropriations Committee has recommended that the removed funds be realigned to health, education, and other essential infrastructure such as roads and multipurpose buildings.

Puno also extended advice for the new DPWH Secretary Vince Dizon, saying that instead of chasing after the people behind the anomalies, he should remove all individuals involved or suspected in anomalous budget processes. "Mas mabait ba sila kaysa sa atin? Mas mataas ba yung lugar nila sa langit kapag namatay tayong lahat? Tingin ko hindi e (Are they kinder than us? Are they in a higher place in heaven when we all die? I do not think so)," he said.

He emphasized the suggestion to start with a “zero base” approach by bringing in trusted, credible people and earn back public trust.