The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) is set to spend at least P16 billion to rehabilitate the Maharlika Highway, a vital north-south artery that has gone largely untouched for over 40 years.

“There’s no final cost yet, but I think the minimum is about P16 billion. That’s the initial figure I saw, but it could increase. A significant amount of spending is required for Maharlika (because) it stretches from North Luzon to Mindanao. It’s really in bad shape,” Public Works Secretary Vince Dizon said at a media briefing on Monday. 

Dizon said the agency will finalize the spending figures after on-site assessments along the Maharlika road in Bicol this Friday and Saturday, while coordinating with the House Infrastructure Committee, which plans to request official documents to track the department’s planned projects and allocations.

The Maharlika Highway—also known as the Pan-Philippine Highway—stretches over 3,300 kilometers, linking Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao through a network of roads, expressways, bridges, and Ro-Ro routes. 

Despite its critical role in connecting the country, the highway has not undergone major rehabilitation since it was completed in the late 1970s.

“Maharlika Highway, for your information, has not been rehabilitated since it was built. Forty plus years since it was completed and it hasn’t had a major rehabilitation. That’s why it needs attention. And it’s really a burden for our fellow citizens,” Dizon said. 

Aside from the Maharlika Highway, the DPWH is also planning major rehabilitation along the C5 Road (Circumferential Road 5), a major beltway in Metro Manila, linking cities such as Taguig, Pasig, Quezon City, and Las Piñas. 

The network of roads and bridges, including key interchanges like the C5-Ortigas Flyover and the newer C5 Link Expressway, supports urban transport and provides alternative express routes despite its notorious traffic congestion across Metro Manila.

This year, the DPWH, despite being at the center of a massive flood control corruption scandal, received the second-largest allocation in the national budget, with P530.9 billion—around 40 percent less than the department had requested.

Its funding is second only to the Department of Education, which was allocated P1.015 trillion, its largest budget to date.