Congress slashes 2025 DPWH budget for Bicol

By Manuel T. Ugalde

LEGAZPI CITY --- Congress has significantly reduced the 2025 budget for the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) in the Bicol Region.

In 2024, DPWH Bicol ranked fourth in funding nationwide with a P83 billion budget, a figure described as “gargantuan” by the Duterte Presidential Anti-Graft Commission, given the region’s reputation for graft across its 16 district engineering offices.

Ako Bicol Congressman Rizaldy Co, chairman of the Committee on Appropriations, did not provide an exact figure but confirmed that the 2025 infrastructure budget for Bicol has indeed been reduced.

It is worth noting that the Bicol region has consistently ranked lower in road quality compared to Visayas, Mindanao, and Palawan, where roads tend to remain crack-free and defect-free for at least ten years post-construction. In contrast, Bicol roads often show cracks and require repairs within just a year of completion, according to an open letter by Camarines Sur engineer Winefredo Firme. He cited Camarines Sur, which has the highest number of congressional districts among Bicol’s six provinces, as a case in point.

This is despite Bicol DPWH’s previous reputation as a top performer from the late 1990s to 2010. However, the region has long been plagued by allegations of insider contractors, dating back to the Cory Aquino administration, when lawmakers were said to have had undue access to contracts.

DPWH Regional Director Virgilio Eduarte confirmed that Bicol’s 2025 budget has been slashed to P53 billion under the National Expenditure Program, compared to P83 billion in 2024. Of the 2024 budget, P24 billion was allocated to the regional office, while Albay’s 2nd District, represented by Rep. Joey Sarte Salceda, received P18 billion.

A source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, claimed that the large 2024 budget for Region 5 was the result of aggressive lobbying by Bicol lawmakers in preparation for the 2025 elections.

Director Eduarte declined to comment on the issue of Bicol’s poor road quality, stating that he had only been assigned to the region a year before the pandemic.