The House of Representatives warned on Monday night that unresolved differences over the 2026 budget of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) could stall nearly P400 billion worth of infrastructure projects, negatively impacting economic growth, employment, and community services.
House Committee on Appropriations Chair Nueva Ecija Rep. Mikaela Angela Suansing said the issue is not whether to remove overpriced components, but how cost reductions are applied, stressing the need for a workable approach that does not render projects unimplementable.
“Actually, that’s the word I really want to avoid. I would not characterize this as a deadlock,” Suansing said in Filipino during a press conference at the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC).
“All of us recognize that there are overpriced items as initially estimated by the DPWH. And we all have a stance that we want to remove the overpriced part contained in the estimates of the projects,” Suansing added.
The warning came amid bicameral budget talks, with the Senate contingent absent from Tuesday’s scheduled meeting as House conferees gathered at the PICC.
Lawmakers clashed Sunday over the DPWH’s request to reverse the P45-billion cuts imposed by the Senate on the House version of the agency’s budget.
Senators have stood by the reductions, which House lawmakers believe—if applied wholesale—could render nearly 10,000 projects worth an estimated P400 billion unimplementable.
Suansing said the potential impact has already been quantified.
“Maybe yesterday we quantified 9,900 projects affected with a total amount of P406 billion,” she said.
“If we assume that 25 percent of these projects will become unimplementable, that’s already P101 billion wasted that would have been implemented in the right way.”
She said stalled infrastructure spending would have ripple effects across the economy, the labor market, and local communities.
“We need infrastructure spending now to accelerate our GDP growth. We saw what happened when the projects were stopped; many lost their jobs,” she emphasized.
The dispute centers on the revised construction materials price data (CMPD) submitted by the DPWH to the Senate, which the upper chamber used as the basis for its cuts.
The House, however, said the Senate erred in applying the CMPD reductions across the board rather than on a project-specific basis.
DPWH Secretary Vince Dizon has said the CMPD should be applied per project, citing variations in construction material costs depending on location.
Suansing said the House is pushing for a workable and transparent solution that removes overpriced components without derailing projects already programmed for implementation.
“What is the best way forward? What is the best way to go about this?” she asked.
She stressed that discussions should continue openly and collectively to arrive at a solution.
“Mas maganda po sana na lahat kami nasa iisang lugar para po talakayin ang mga katanungan… mas maganda na matalakay namin ‘yun.”
(It would be better if we were all in the same place to discuss the questions… it would be better if we could discuss it)
Suansing also warned that prolonged delays threaten the completion of the budget itself.
“Every single day is crucial for our technical teams to be able to finish the bill,” she said.
“It’s really from a practical perspective na kailangan po namin ng oras para tapusin at most especially puliduhin talaga… It’s taking time away from the crucial step of finishing and verifying, and reviewing the enrolled bill and the bicam report,” the solon added.
