Senate Minority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano on Wednesday expressed strong support for the government’s decision to halt funding for flood control projects in the proposed 2026 national budget, urging a realignment of the Department of Public Works and Highways’ (DPWH) multibillion-peso allocations to more urgent sectors such as education and health.
“It’s high time we make the tough decisions and put our money where our priorities are. We need to be bold and radical with the 2026 national budget,” Cayetano said.
His remarks came in response to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s recent announcement that no new flood control projects will be included in the 2026 National Expenditure Program (NEP), with funds to be reallocated to other key areas of governance.
Cayetano, a long-time advocate for budget reform, had earlier proposed rechanneling a portion of the DPWH’s substantial budget to address the country’s most pressing needs—chief among them, the estimated shortage of 165,000 classrooms nationwide.
“The DPWH has a budget of P1 trillion. If a classroom costs P1 million, we only need P165 billion to completely address the shortage. That’s just a fraction—less than half—of the department’s annual allocation,” he pointed out during a Senate session on July 30, 2025.
Cayetano has consistently questioned the DPWH’s use of funds, particularly its spending on anti-flood measures. He noted that despite consistently allocating over P350 billion annually to flood control, little has improved in terms of actual flood mitigation.
“For the past two years, the DPWH’s budget has hovered around P1 trillion, with P350 billion earmarked for flood control. Yet our flood problems persist,” he said in a Senate hearing on November 19, 2024, criticizing what he described as the agency’s ineffective implementation of projects.
He added, “Imagine if we took P100 billion from the DPWH and doubled the budget of state universities and colleges (SUCs)—we’d be flooded with research and students instead of floodwaters.”
Cayetano has also been vocal about the leadership and spending issues within the DPWH, citing persistent problems such as double appropriations, inefficient fund utilization, and questionable expenditures through the agency’s Engineering and Administrative Overhead (EAO) fund.
Back in 2022, Cayetano flagged the DPWH’s 2023 budget for allocating a significant portion of its funds to flood control and maintenance, rather than new infrastructure development, further underscoring the need for comprehensive reforms.| – TheMetroTimes.ph
