THE Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) will operate with a reduced budget of P529.6 billion in 2026, as the bicameral conference committee approved the allocation early Thursday morning.
The budget cut, amounting to P20.7 billion, stems from the identification and reduction of overpriced construction materials in government infrastructure projects, with the savings being redirected to bolster healthcare and disaster response efforts.
The bicameral conference committee (bicam) wrapped up its extensive deliberations on the proposed P6.793-trillion national budget for fiscal year 2026 after four days.
Senator Sherwin Gatchalian, chairman of the Senate committee on finance, attributed the savings to the application of the Construction Materials Price Data (CMPD), provided by DPWH Secretary Vince Dizon, across approximately 10,000 projects.
“Based on the DPWH’s submission, with their new adjustment factor, they have now included logistics, hauling costs, and other relevant expenses, bringing the material costs closer to the actual figures,” Gatchalian said.
“The result of the savings we got is P20.7 billion. So I am confident to say that there are no more overpriced materials within this budget,” he added.
The bicam realigned P16.52 billion of the P20.7 billion savings to the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth), while P4.25 billion was transferred to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Fund, prioritizing critical sectors in need of additional resources.
The DPWH had previously appealed to the Senate to restore amounts deducted from the agency’s proposed 2026 budget due to reductions based on the CMPD.
House Committee on Appropriations chairperson and Nueva Ecija Rep. Mikaela Angela Suansing noted that the bicam was able to substantially decrease the DPWH budget by over P300 billion from the 2026 National Expenditure Program (NEP) or by P94 billion from the House-approved General Appropriations Bill (GAB).
