Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Secretary Vince Dizon on Wednesday ordered the suspension of the ongoing bidding of all locally funded projects of the infrastructure agency nationwide.
“I will order today (September 3) a pause to all the ongoing bidding of all locally funded projects nationwide,” Dizon said.
The Public Works chief said the pause of all ongoing biddings will take “two weeks.”
Dizon said the nationwide suspension of DPWH bidding activities is in line with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s directive to “clean up” the DPWH.
“The President made it clear—he does not want any more government funds to be wasted,” Dizon said.
The infrastructure initiatives—including flood control, roads, and bridges, among others, which are to be bid out by the national, regional, and district offices of the DPWH—fall under his pause order.
Dizon clarified that the Public Works Department will assess its bidding procedures for projects funded locally.
“I am allowing our new team a maximum of two weeks to implement safeguards in the bidding process,” Dizon added.
The secretary also clarified that projects funded by foreign countries or Official Development Assistance and lending institutions will continue as planned.
He explained that projects funded by Official Development Assistance have undergone thorough review and are part of infrastructure flagship projects —projects that have a significant impact and are important to the country’s economic development.
“Because we are confident these [foreign-assisted projects] are in order since our foreign funders are monitoring these,” Dizon said.
The approval process for such projects goes through several levels of evaluation and clearance, including the review of the Regional Development Council (RDC); Department of Economy, Planning, and Development (DEPDev); Investment Coordination Committee (ICC) Secretariat, Technical Board and Cabinet Committee; and the Economy and Development Council (formerly NEDA Board), which is chaired by the President himself.
Earlier, Dizon said the agency has no alternative but to rebid the flood control projects, which are either non-existent or referred to as “ghost.”
Resigned Secretary Manuel Bonoan mentioned that the DPWH has already verified 160 flood control projects from a total of approximately 9,855 completed between July 2022 and May 2025.
The former DPWH chief said the agency discovered that 15 out of the 160 validated flood control projects are either “missing” or “unlocated.”
Dizon assured the public that the DPWH is committed to transparency, accountability, and proper use of public funds in the next steps.
