The Senate is set to slash the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) infrastructure allocation by 15% to 20% to curb alleged overpricing in various public works projects, including farm-to-market roads and bypass roads, Senate President Vicente “Tito” Sotto III said.
In an interview, Sotto shared that he had discussed the matter with Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian, chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance, after Gatchalian’s team uncovered several overpriced infrastructure projects.
“Across the board, ika-cut namin between 15% to 20% ang pondo ng bawat proyekto,” Sotto said.
According to Sotto, the decision came after several district engineers and DPWH officials admitted that project costs were deliberately inflated to provide shares or “cuts” to certain proponents.
Recently, former DPWH Bulacan 1st District Engineer Henry Alcantara and Assistant Engineer Brice Hernandez claimed that several senators, including Sen. Jinggoy Estrada, Senate Deputy Minority Leader Joel Villanueva, and former Senate President Francis “Chiz” Escudero, allegedly received kickbacks from infrastructure projects.
Earlier, Gatchalian revealed during budget deliberations that around ₱10.3 billion worth of farm-to-market roads under the Department of Agriculture (DA) from 2023 to 2024 were overpriced.
Sotto also ordered a probe into the construction of more than 300 “super health centers” nationwide, many of which remain unused or non-operational.
He further disclosed that the Senate committee report on the flood control anomaly will soon be submitted to the Department of Justice (DOJ), the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI), and the Office of the Ombudsman for appropriate legal action.
Meanwhile, Sotto confirmed that he had met with Sen. Erwin Tulfo, acting chair of the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee, to discuss the next direction of the ongoing investigation.
He also hinted that the majority bloc may convince Senate President Panfilo “Ping” Lacson to return as Blue Ribbon chairman after his resignation.
“At the very least, 50/50 [Lacson would return],” Sotto said. “Baka mapilitan [kasi] gusto namin [majority],” he added.
Sotto said the leadership issue in the committee is expected to be settled before November 10.
“Bago mag-Nov. 10, malinaw na tayo,” he stressed.