SENATE President Sherwin Gatchalian announced Tuesday that the chamber will remove ₱8.836 billion worth of infrastructure projects from the proposed 2027 national budget due to incomplete or missing documentation from the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).
The decision follows revelations from former DPWH Secretary Vince Dizon that 295 projects failed the agency’s internal compliance review, and comes on the heels of Gatchalian raising eight categories of budgetary “red flags” during the department’s September budget hearing.
Gatchalian disclosed that of the 11,395 infrastructure projects under scrutiny, more than 62% — or 7,107 projects — carried at least one major irregularity.
These included entries without valid station numbers or geographical coordinates, vague lump‑sum allocations, overlapping or fragmented work, and projects listing conflicting types of activity. The Senate President emphasized that only projects with complete, verifiable technical documentation will be retained in the final budget, with every line item required to be “shovel‑ready” before approval.
“The Senate is committed unequivocally in weeding out unsubstantiated line items, including those lacking concrete and verifiable technical support, to ensure that every item in the final version is shovel‑ready. Unverifiable line items will not receive a single peso of public funding,” Gatchalian stated.
He stressed that strict accountability is especially critical amid the country’s sluggish economic growth, and that no funds will be released for projects that cannot fully justify their purpose, location, and cost. Further reviews are ongoing, and additional adjustments may be made before the budget is finalized.
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