Roads all over Metro Manila are set for a “massive” rehabilitation, the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) said.
“We are planning to undertake a massive rehabilitation program in Metro Manila, especially in the major thoroughfares,” DPWH Secretary Manuel Bonoan told the House Appropriations Committee during the agency’s budget briefing, ABS-CBN News reported.
The official said the rehabilitation efforts will include preventive maintenance, overlays, asphalt overlay, including the provision of specific lanes for motorcycles and riders.
Bonoan said the DPWH will also discuss the rehabilitation works with the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA).
Motorists are advised to look for alternate routes as several national road sections in Metro Manila will undergo repairs this weekend, the DPWH also said.
In an advisory, DPWH National Capital Region (NCR) director Nomer Abel Canlas said the repairs will start at 11 p.m. Friday.
Lawmakers have allocated P675.38 billion for the DPWH, particularly for infrastructure spending in 2023.
The DPWH’s total expenditure program, however, will decrease by 8.7 percent to P718.4 billion in 2023 from P786.6 billion in 2022, ABS-CBN News reported.
The House of Representatives’ in-house think tank, the Congressional Planning and Budget Research Department (CPBRD), flagged the lower budget for road maintenance.
Ako-Bicol representative and House appropriations committee chairperson and Rep. Elizaldy Co meanwhile said the country’s public works must use technology for faster completion of projects and must be resilient enough to withstand climate change and the various disasters that the Philippines frequently face.
“Faster computing powers and innovations in material science now allow for infrastructure designs and construction to finish faster—in weeks or even days.
Our Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) must use these new technologies to allow our citizens to enjoy our roads, bridges, school buildings, and other similar projects earlier,” Co said.
At the same time, legislators and members of the Appropriations committee expressed concern about unused appropriations in the 2020 (P83 billion) and 2021 (P87.6 billion) budgets of the department.
Asked about the amount of unused DPWH funds for 2022, Bonoan told the House body that the department’s current accomplishment is about 90 percent He said he is confident that by yearend, that number would increase to 95 percent.
On the unused P1.4 billion of the DPWH’s Quick Response Fund in 2021, Bonoan said that as of Aug. 31, 2022, the department has a balance of P1.3 billion which he plans to use before the year ends.
Several congressmen also raised the issues of traffic congestion and flooding caused by delayed project completion.
Co noted that the department faces many challenges and requires full support from all sectors. “This committee supports the P718.36-billion proposed budget of the DPWH for 2023—to enable the country to meet and surpass these challenges,” he said.