00:00They expected sparks to fly and surprises to pop up. Instead, what they heard was a loud thud when newly ordained DPWH Chief Vince Dizon showed up with nothing in hand on the first day of House Budget Hearing for the embattled agency, which Carmela Lesmoras covered in this report.
00:17Department of Public Works and Highways, or DPWH, Secretary Vince Dizon, assured that they will thoroughly clean up their 2026 budget proposal.
00:26Just recently, President Ferdinand R. Marcus Jr. himself ordered for a sweeping review of the DPWH proposed budget following various issues being linked to it.
00:36As much as possible, yung mga pinoint out na red flags ng ating kongreso ay buburay natin. Walang doble, walang completed na mayroon pa, na mayroon pa rin budget. Yun, unacceptable yan.
00:50Today, Secretary Dizon appeared before the budget briefing of the House Committee on Appropriations.
00:56However, he did not yet present their budget proposal as its contents are still being revised and finalized.
01:02So during the interpolation, several lawmakers instead laid out their concerns and suggestions for the department.
01:09On the flood control projects, House Minority Leader Marcelino Libanan insisted that most flood-prone areas should not be left behind.
01:16Ito po, yung ating top 20 flood control provinces na talagang binabaha.
01:26Pero sa pinaglalaanan po natin ang pundo ng DPWH, kayo po ang nag-a-identify dito.
01:32Dose sa mga probinsya, wala po dito sa top 20 provinces.
01:39Kailangan itong pag-aralan dahil mananalo lang po tayo dito pang maganda ang ating planning.
01:44Agree po ako sa lahat ng sinabi ninyo.
01:47Kung mayroon man pong flood control projects, dapat po ang uunahin dito yung mga pinaka-nangangailangan ng flood control project.
01:57Iyan po ay tingin ko ay common sense.
02:01Secretary Dizon said that out of the over 880 billion pesos of the proposed budget of the DPWH for 2026, more than 30% or 268.3 billion pesos is allocated for flood control projects.
02:16But the question is, as of now, does the Philippines already have a nationwide flood control master plan?
02:22The Secretary said there is none yet for the entire country, but one is currently being developed for Metro Manila.
02:28Ito po ay funded ng Asian Development Bank at ng JICA jointly.
02:32Yan po ay nagsimula na ngayong taon at matatapos po sa susunod na taon.
02:39At sana po, pag ito'y natapos, pwede po ito'y i-replicate sa ibang mga lugar sa buong bansa na prone sa pagbaha.
02:47Currently, several companies have already been blacklisted due to their alleged involvement in anomalies related to flood control projects.
02:55However, the DPWH clarified that those involved must still complete their contractual obligations.
03:01Yung binra-case na po natin, yung WAWOW at saka yung SIMS, kahapon lang po yun.
03:06Pinapahod ko po lahat ng payments to those contractors.
03:11Pero, kailangan din po natin tapusin, syempre, kung meron silang ongoing.
03:15So, pag-uusapan po namin ng ating operations group kung paano po ang magiging sistema, kung ano po ang gagawin natin para matuloy.
03:24After five hours, the Appropriations Committee decided to defer the DPWH Budget Briefing for now.
03:30The committee gave the department one week or until September 12th to submit their revised budget proposal.
03:36Melales Moras from the National TV Network for a new and better Philippines.
