SENATE President Vicente Sotto III on Monday pressed the passage of Senate Bill No. 1835, also known as the Infrastructure Governance Act, seeking to restructure the Department of Public Works and Highways by closing gaps “where opportunities for corruption exist.”
Through a rationalized setup covering the central, regional and district offices, Sotto says the mandate-focused reorganization will also improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the agency’s services.
“Public infrastructure plays a vital role in an efficient and effective nation. Not only do they produce a number of jobs, they also answer to the essential, if not indispensable, needs of many Filipinos,” he said.
“These infrastructure projects are one of the major government services through which the taxpayers feel that their contributions are worthwhile,” he added.
Under the measure, the DPWH central office will be restructured into cluster based infrastructure services units composed of the National Highways Operations Unit, the Flood Control and Water Resource Development System Unit, other public works unit, and an Infrastructure Maintenance Services Unit.
Each unit is headed by an undersecretary with three assistant secretaries assigned to Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao.
The Infrastructure Maintenance Services Unit will inspect, monitor and evaluate completed projects and maintain a centralized and publicly accessible online database of all government infrastructure projects, whether implemented by national or local entities, including their status and bidding details.
The proposed law also creates an Infrastructure Inspectorate Team and bars the release of final billing or project completion payments without corresponding inspection reports, while mandating that all inspections be streamed live on official channels and uploaded for public access.
Regional offices will have expanded roles in planning and evaluation, while district offices will focus on supervision of construction and coordination with local governments.
The measure establishes a Planning and Technical Concerns Unit under an undersecretary tasked with infrastructure development planning and programming, research on construction materials and quality control, specialized technical studies, formulation of training programs, review of building and construction standards including the Building Code, promotion of technical publications, provision of technical assistance to government units and coordination with research and engineering centers.
An Administration and Special Concerns Unit will oversee daily operations and include an Internal Audit Services Office responsible for management and operations audits, systems review, asset management assessment and recommendations to address deficiencies, as well as an Information Services Office tasked with advising on public information, developing communication programs and producing media materials aligned with national government initiatives.
In his explanatory note, Sotto cited recurring problems such as collapsing bridges, unfinished school buildings, ghost flood control projects, newly built but damaged roads and poorly maintained facilities as indications of systemic corruption that he said has spread from the central office to district levels, undermining decentralization and ultimately harming taxpayers who rely on safe and reliable infrastructure.
“The Filipino people rely on them for safe infrastructure projects that answer to their primary needs but also for the projects that mitigate the harsh effects of calamities. However, time and again, substandard infrastructure projects have given devastating consequences to the people,” Sotto said.
