Senate President Vicente “Tito” Sotto III has filed a measure seeking to strengthen the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) by reorganizing and rationalizing the powers and functions of its central, regional, and district offices.
Sotto said passage into law of Senate Bill No. 1835 will enhance transparency, efficiency, and accountability in public infrastructure governance, noting the DPWH’s vital role in nation-building.
The Senate leader filed the measure in light of the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee’s hearings on anomalous flood control projects. The bill is expected to undergo committee deliberations in the coming weeks.
“As one of the departments receiving the largest budget allocations, Filipinos rightfully expect that every peso entrusted to the DPWH translates into safe, resilient, and responsive infrastructure,” Sotto said.
Key Provisions of SB No. 1835
- Revisits DPWH’s mandate, powers, organizational structure, and operational framework.
- Reorganizes the department proper according to key infrastructure projects to decentralize preparation and implementation, reducing irregularities and delays.
- Creates an Infrastructure Maintenance Services Unit to inspect, monitor, and evaluate completed projects, while maintaining a centralized and publicly accessible infrastructure database.
- Assigns regional offices to handle project identification and bidding, while district offices focus on supervision, monitoring, and recommendatory functions.
- Establishes an Infrastructure Inspectorate Team tasked to live stream DPWH inspections via official channels for transparency.
Sotto emphasized that the measure aims to restore public trust in infrastructure governance.
“Through a rationalization of this department and its regional and district offices, we can ensure that corruption will no longer seep into its walls,” he explained.
“This measure is about restoring public trust by rationalizing functions, strengthening monitoring mechanisms, and institutionalizing transparency to ensure that the people’s taxes are spent efficiently, honestly, and for the public good,” he added.