Dizon defends bid for Congress to restore cuts to its 2026 budget

Manila Bulletin

Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Secretary Vince Dizon on Sunday, December 14 has urged Congress to restore the funds that were slashed from its budget for next year, making senators skeptical of the agency’s sudden request. (Video courtesy of Senate of the Philippines)  READ: https://mb.com.ph/2025/12/14/dizon-defends-bid-for-congress-to-restore-cuts-to-its-2026-budget  Join this channel to get access to perks: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5664f6TkaeHgwBly50DWZQ/join  Subscribe to the Manila Bulletin Online channel! - https://www.youtube.com/TheManilaBulletin  Visit our website at http://mb.com.ph Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/manilabulletin Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/manila_bulletin Instagram: https://instagram.com/manilabulletin Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@manilabulletin  #ManilaBulletinOnline #ManilaBulletin #LatestNews

Transcript

00:00What we want to ask is that the $45 billion approximately

00:09Next slide, please. Sorry.

00:11Sorry.

00:11Next slide.

00:15I'll return again so that we can implement it as a right.

00:21Because while it is true that the President told me and instructed me

00:27to bring down the prices of materials in order to eliminate overpricing,

00:35he also is very conscious of our desperate need

00:40to ramp up our infrastructure spending and our infrastructure implementation.

00:46We all know that in the past quarter, the economy only grew by 4%.

00:52And this is largely because of the cut in public expenditure,

00:57especially in infrastructure.

00:59And the President does not want that to happen.

01:02Our fear is, and I will show later some examples,

01:06that the cut made using our adjustment factors,

01:12as Sen Win correctly pointed out, across the board,

01:16across roughly 10,000 projects in the General Appropriations Bill

01:22may result inevitably in projects that will end up being unimplementable

01:31because of the way that they were applied to the various projects.

01:36And I will show that in a few slides.

01:39So, ito lang po ang aming hinihiling.

01:43Hindi ho namin ulitin ko.

01:44Hindi ho namin ibabalik ang presyo ulit at itataas.

01:49Ikagawa, wala po kaming project na ipapadagdag ulit.

01:52Wala pong ibabalik.

01:54Wala pong duplicate project na tinanggal na ibabalik.

01:57Wala pong flood control project na ibabalik.

02:00Klaro po yan.

02:01And if I just may go to our statement

02:06and how DPWH, according to the engineers I have with me,

02:12there are, I think, four of them here.

02:15Many of them have been in DPWH for decades already.

02:20Ang proseso po is kapag binago ang cost ng materyales,

02:26kailangan pong gawin ng DPWH iisa-isahin ang lahat ng proyekto.

02:34Dahil ang bawat proyekto po, iba-iba yan.

02:38Merong mas maraming simento ang gagamitin.

02:42Merong mas maraming bakal ang gagamitin.

02:45May mas maraming graba ang gagamitin.

02:47Depende po yan dun sa program of work.

02:51At bawat proyekto po ay iba-iba ang program of work.

02:54Kaya po yung mga presyong ibinaba,

02:57kailangan po yan i-apply sa program of work

03:00ng iba't-ibang proyekto.

03:03Roughly totaling 10,000 projects.

03:06Pagkatapos po bagawin ang POW,

03:10ang pagbabago ngayon dun sa presyo

03:13ay i-reflect na sa bagong approved budget of contract.

03:20Yung ABC.

03:22Kapag po nabawas na yun,

03:24bababop po ang ABC.

03:26Depende sa laki ng binaba ng presyo.

03:30Depende kung saan.

03:31Tama po si Congressman Alvarez.

03:35Na,

03:37depende sa lugar,

03:37depende.

03:40Depende ang presyo ng simento,

03:41ng aggregate,

03:42ng graba,

03:43ng buhangin,

03:44ng asfalto.

03:45Depende sa lugar.

03:47So,

03:47kailangan po yan iisa-isa yan.

03:48At kapag po,

03:50nababa na,

03:51yung ABC,

03:52yung approved budget of contract,

03:55ito na po ang magiging bagong budget.

03:58At ito na po ang ipapublish ngayon

04:00para ipabid at iprocure ng DPWH.

04:05Yan po ang proseso.

04:08So,

04:08ito lang po ang gusto namin ipag-iwanag.

04:11Ngayon po,

04:12gusto po akong,

04:13gusto ko po magpakita ng mga example

04:15ng mga proyekto

04:17nandun sa isa sa mga sampung libong proyektong naapektuhan

04:22nung pagbaba

04:23ng

04:24nang

04:25senate

04:27dun sa mga project costs.

04:30At dito po makikita natin na

04:31hindi po tagaga natin pwedeng

04:33ibaba na lang ng

04:35basta-basta

04:36across the board.

04:38No?

04:38And next slide, please.

04:39These are projects, for example,

04:41for asphalting

04:42in Region 4B

04:43and Region 7.

04:46In the

04:47GAB,

04:48in the house version,

04:50the budget

04:50was 41

04:52million pesos.

04:55In the third reading

04:56senate

04:57version,

04:58it was cut

04:59to

05:0012.9

05:01roughly

05:0213

05:03million pesos.

05:05Roughly

05:06by

05:0668%.

05:07And I understand,

05:09naintindihan ko po

05:10kung sa nang galing

05:11yung 68%.

05:13Dahil po,

05:14para sa asphalto

05:15at sa Region 4B,

05:17yun pong pinadala nating

05:18adjustment factor

05:20sa Senate Finance Committee

05:22ay 68%.

05:24So,

05:25ang ginawa po

05:27ng Senate

05:27is

05:28yung pong

05:29budget

05:30ay kinat

05:31ng 68%.

05:32No?

05:34So,

05:34naintindihan ko po yun.

05:35Pero,

05:36kung gagawin po natin

05:37yung

05:38paraan

05:39na

05:40ang

05:42ikakat lang

05:43ay yung

05:44materyales.

05:45Remember po,

05:46ang materyales

05:47ay

05:47parte lang po

05:49ng cost

05:50ng isang project.

05:52Materyales,

05:54labor,

05:55equipment,

05:57at siyempre,

05:58kailangan din po

05:59ng

06:00contractor's profit,

06:02no?

06:02which is roughly

06:03about 8%

06:04to 10%.

06:05So,

06:06if we apply po

06:07yung 68%

06:09sa materials

06:10only,

06:11ang kalalabasan po

06:12ay

06:1323%

06:16reduction,

06:17or yung

06:18pong 41,

06:20bababa po

06:21ng

06:2131.5

06:23million.

06:23Which means po,

06:25meron pong

06:2518 million

06:26na

06:28mawawala

06:29sa pondo

06:30ng

06:30proyektong ito.

06:32At dahil dun po,

06:34mahirap na pong

06:34i-implement

06:35yung proyektong yun.

06:37So,

06:39on the other hand,

06:40meron din naman po

06:41na

06:42proyekto

06:44na

06:45baliktad naman.

06:46Asphalt overlay din po ito

06:48sa Region 7.

06:49Ang original price po

06:51ay

06:5125.54

06:53pero

06:56dahil nga po

06:58ang

06:58average

07:01factor

07:02sa Region 7

07:03ay minus 3% lang.

07:05Ang cut lang po

07:06ng Senate

07:06ay

07:07from 25

07:11to 2.4

07:12million.

07:13Roughly 1 million lang po

07:14ang naging cut ng Senate.

07:16But if we apply

07:17the factor

07:18for that specific

07:20project

07:20given the program

07:22of work,

07:22it is actually

07:24higher.

07:25It is

07:25not 3%

07:26but it's actually

07:27minus 37%.

07:30So,

07:31meron pong

07:31additional savings

07:32doon.

07:34No?

07:35If I can go

07:36further,

07:37this is for

07:38asphalt overlay.

07:39Concrete road

07:39construction,

07:41ganun din po,

07:42sa Region 2 naman.

07:4390 million po,

07:46ang reduction po

07:47was 15%

07:49because that was

07:50the adjustment

07:50factor for Region 2

07:52for cement,

07:54etc.

07:56Ang naging cut po

07:57ng Senate

07:58was from

07:5990 million

07:59to 76.5 million.

08:02A reduction

08:02of 15%.

08:03But,

08:04again,

08:05if we follow

08:05the process

08:06and only

08:07reduce in

08:08the price

08:10of materials,

08:11the cut

08:11is only

08:126%.

08:13So,

08:15although ito po

08:15hindi masyadong

08:16mataas,

08:17pero,

08:18meron din pong

08:20impacto sa

08:21implementability

08:22ng proyekto.

08:22But,

08:24at the same time,

08:25sa Region 4B naman,

08:27dahil 4% lang po

08:28yung,

08:28ano,

08:29yung aming

08:29adjustment factor

08:30for 4B

08:31in general.

08:32And,

08:324B po is very

08:33special,

08:34kasi,

08:35kahit isang

08:35region po yan,

08:36iba-iba pong

08:37isla yan.

08:38Iba-iba po

08:39ang sitwasyon

08:40sa Palawan,

08:41sa Mindoro,

08:42sa Romblon,

08:43sa Marinduque.

08:44Iba-iba po yan.

08:46Kaya,

08:47mahirap pong

08:47mag-cut lang

08:48based

08:49sa adjustment

08:50factor for

08:51that region.

08:51So,

08:52if we apply

08:53the adjustment

08:54factor

08:55in prices,

08:57actually,

08:58mas maglaki po

08:58dapat yung cut.

09:00Instead of

09:00just 5-4%,

09:01it is actually

09:0217%.

09:04So,

09:04may additional

09:05savings po

09:05na 7 million.

09:08So,

09:09Mr. Chairman,

09:11Madam Chair,

09:13yun lang naman po

09:13ang gusto naming

09:14ipariwanag.

09:15Kaya po kami

09:16naniniwala

09:17sa DPWH

09:18na

09:19dapat po

09:22ang eksekutibo

09:23na

09:23ang mag-apply

09:24nung mga

09:25pagbabago

09:26sa presyo.

09:27Dahil po

09:28yung

09:28proseso

09:30na ginagawa

09:31ng DPWH

09:32ay nandyan na.

09:34May proseso po tayo

09:35para i-apply

09:35yung mga reduction.

09:37At ito po

09:38e mamiminimize

09:39natin

09:39yung risk

09:40na

09:41magiging

09:42unimplementable

09:43or inviable

09:44yung presyo.

09:49working

09:50sa

09:51t

09:53mga

09:54sa

09:54mga

09:55sa

09:56mga

09:57sa

09:58kan

09:59sa

09:59na

09:59mga

09:59sa

10:00mga

10:02sa

10:02in

10:02sa

10:03mi

10:03sa

10:03n

10:03sa

10:03,

10:04sa

10:06sa

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