Amid a “deadlock” on the budget of the Department of Public Works and Highways, the Senate on Monday postponed the third day of the bicameral conference committee meeting on the proposed 2026 General Appropriations Act.
Senator Sherwin Gatchalian said the Upper chamber is standing firm on its position against the use of overpriced construction materials for government infrastructure projects.
This as DPWH Secretary Vince Dizon appealed to the bicam to restore the P45 billion funds initially slashed from the department’s budget for next year for the implementation of 10,000 projects.
“After the caucus, we decided to postpone the bicam to resolve the issues with the House and the DPWH. At least on the Senate side, that is our position. The Senate is very firm against overpriced items,” Gatchalian said.
Gatchalian said the budget adjustment was based on the Construction Materials Price Data (CMPD) submitted by the DPWH to the Senate.
“We can call it a deadlock on that aspect but we’re finding a solution. I am committed to finding a solution. I am open to working with the DPWH. We want to move forward. I am open to working with the House and the DPWH,” Gatchalian said.
Dizon said the CMPD should be applied on a per-project basis, citing that the costs of construction materials vary according to location.
The Public Work chief’s position was backed by Malacañang.
“The DPWH has a budget request and it so happened the Senate slashed it. The request now (is to restore it) or the 10,000 projects might not be implemented,” Palace Press Office Usec. Claire Castro said.
For her part, the chair of the House committee on appropriations, Nueva Ecija Rep. Mikaela Suansing, said the decision to call off the Monday’s proceedings was a unilateral decision by the Senate contingent.
“We are ready to continue the bicameral conference committee proceedings. That is what we would want right now because there is a timeline we want to follow,” she said.
“I just want to once again express to our Senate counterparts that we are here. Our disposition is to move forward with the conversation,” Suansing added.
She cited the need for both chambers to finish the bicam meetings on time.
“The calendar has already been adjusted so both chambers can ratify the bicam report on December 22. That is what we want to achieve,” she said.
Over the weekend, Dizon explained to the bicam that if the project cost is cut too much, no contractor may bid for the project, though the agency has the option of modifying the project to make it implementable.
“Please restore our budget so our projects can be implemented properly. Because while it is true that the President told me and instructed me to bring down the prices of materials in order to eliminate overpricing, he also is very conscious of our desperate need to ramp up our infrastructure spending and implementation,” Dizon told lawmakers.
He also cited economic data showing slower growth in the previous quarter, which he attributed largely to cuts in public expenditure, particularly in infrastructure.
“Our fear is… that the cut made using our adjustment factors may result inevitably in projects that will end up being unimplementable because of the way that they were applied to the various projects,” he said.
Dizon said under the CMPD special issuance, reductions are meant to reflect lower base material costs while keeping project scope and quantities unchanged, with savings incorporated at the contract level through updated programs of work.
