Marcoleta pushes to scrap DPWH District Offices, flags corruption risks

Senator Rodante Marcoleta on Thursday called for the abolition of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) District Engineering Offices (DEOs), arguing that they have become vulnerable to political interference and corruption due to undue influence from members of Congress.

At the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee hearing on anomalous flood control projects, Marcoleta said the current system allows congressmen to wield excessive power over DPWH engineers, leaving them with little to no independence.

“Kaya po prinopropose ni Senate President talaga pong nag-uusap kami na yung mga DEOs na lang alisin (We are seriously discussing, as proposed by the Senate President, removing the DEOs altogether),” Marcoleta revealed.

“Kasi po ang mga nag-aappoint sa inyo mga congressman. Kahit anong iutos sa inyo ng congressman, wala po kayong magagawa, sunud-sunuran po kayo ng congressman. Makapangyarihan po talaga. At pagka hindi n’yo sinunod patatransfer kayo sa ibang lugar. Kaya nakukurakot po talaga eh (Because it’s the congressmen who appoint you. Whatever they tell you to do, you have no choice but to follow. You’re at their mercy. They’re extremely powerful. And if you don’t follow orders, you get reassigned elsewhere. That’s why corruption happens),” he added.

Marcoleta also proposed banning lawmakers from submitting lists of pet infrastructure projects during budget deliberations.

“‘Wag na nating bigyan ng pagkakataon ang congressman, senador, na maglista pa tayo (Let’s stop allowing senators and congressmen to list projects),” he said.

He further explained: “Doon nagmumula yun eh. O, walang maglilista, pabayaan na lang natin yung Executive pero kinakailangan sigurong bantayan para po yung paglalatag ng project, macro talagang panglahatan. Yung national impact kitang-kiita eh (That’s where the problem begins. No more lists — let’s leave that to the Executive. But it has to be monitored closely to ensure the projects laid out are truly macro, nationwide in impact. That way, the results are visible at the national level).”

Meanwhile, Marcoleta criticized the piecemeal implementation of local projects, particularly flood control infrastructure, which he said is often disjointed and ineffective.

“Hindi yung gagawa ka ng flood control dito, doon, di naman magkakaugnay. Walang impact (You build a flood control project here and another one there, but they’re not even connected. There’s no impact),” he said. “Tapos papasok ang congressman. Anong congressman ba yung sinasabi mo? Partylist o regular? (Then the congressman comes in again. What kind of congressman are we talking about here? Party-list or regular?)”

Drawing from his experience as a former party-list representative, Marcoleta lamented the funding disparity between party-list and district lawmakers.

“Napakatagal kong naging partylist, eto yung sentimiento ko siguro, kargado ang buhay ko dyan (I was with a party-list group for a long time. I carry a lot of personal experience on this),” he said.

“Kasi kami P150, P160 [million] masaya na kami Cong Toby di ba. Ito inamin na po ni Secretary Bonoan eh, regular P1B. [Partylist] P150. Tingnan mo na doon pa lang eh (We’d already be happy with P150 or P160 million. Right, Cong. Toby? Meanwhile, regular district reps get P1 billion, Secretary Bonoan has already confirmed that. Just look at that gap),” he added.

Marcoleta also highlighted the challenge party-list representatives face in implementing projects on a national scale with limited funds, often leading them to prioritize areas where they have personal ties.

“Kasi nationwide kami. Kailangan pa po kami magtao sa distrito dahil kukunin nya youn eh (Since we’re nationwide, we still have to coordinate with the district because they’ll end up taking the project),” he said.

Calling for systemic reform, Marcoleta urged policymakers to rethink current infrastructure funding processes to promote fairness, efficiency, and national impact.