The Market Monitor Minding the Nation's Business
By Tracy Cabrera
PORT AREA, Manila — Public works secretary Vivencio ‘Vince’ Dizon has announced a major revamp in the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) with a full reshuffle of its district and regional directors by January 2026 even as noted that several officials linked to the flood control scandal who have been charged or imprisoned have already been replaced on his orders.
The major revamp was voiced out by Dizon following a statement from several senators that it is Dizon whom they trust and not the district officers of the agency during discussions on whether it would be wise to continue putting back part of the agency’s funds.
During the second day of the bicameral conference committee deliberations on the proposed 2026 national budget, the DPWH chief was asked by Senator Francis ‘Kiko’ Pangilinan whether the agency has already carried out a reshuffle amid the flood control issues.
“May nabanggit kayo (na) hindi napapagkatiwalaan na district engineers, pati ba RDs halimbawa moving forward have you effected a reshuffling? Of the district and regional directors?” Pangilinan had inquired.
To this, Dizon replied that “(they) are in the process of doing (the revamp)” and “most likely, (they) will complete a full reshuffle within the first month or a month and a half of 2026.” Dizon replied.
Last week, DPWH Undersecretary Ricardo Bernabe III announced that the agency’s internal cleansing efforts are expanding, citing that administrative proceedings are now underway against 49 personnel, including 40 who have already been placed under preventive suspension, as part of the agency’s ongoing investigation into alleged irregularities in flood control projects.
Bernabe added that four personnel have already been dismissed from service while eight others from Davao Occidental, along with contractors Maria Roma Angeline Remando and Cezarah Rowena Discaya of St. Timothy Construction Corporation, face graft and malversation charges before the Regional Trial Court of Digos City over the ₱96.5-million ghost project.
In addition, 63 individuals, whom he did not identify, have also been charged before the Office of the Ombudsman,
Meanwhile, finance committee chair Senator Sherwin ‘Win’ Gatchalian, aired that it would not be easy to put back the removed DPWH funds, especially since it was borne out of Dizon’s own revelations that items were overpriced.
The public works chief is pitching that the bicam adopt the version of the DPWH budget contained in the House of Representatives’ General Appropriations Bill (GAB) and let the DPWH implement on its own the cost reduction on materials.
Dizon made the proposal as he claims that the formula used by the Senate in cutting down allocations led to inaccurate estimates for 10,000 projects.
Gatchalian, however, pointed out the current situation and misgivings on the proposal: “Secretary Vince, I trust you (. . .) but now, it’s so hard to trust the district engineering offices. To be honest about it, right? I am not accusing everyone but it is hard to trust them and you know that these are projects whose funding would not go through your office; it would go straight to the district engineering office, right?”
“So straight to the (. . .) district engineering offices. I know that you are cleaning the ranks of district engineering offices, the entire DPWH, but that will take time. We need to be relentless, continuous, but that will take time. What we cannot do is, now that we know there is overpricing in this budget, and then we will approve it and go straight to the district engineering offices, which haven’t been cleaned,” the finance committee chair added.
For her part, Senator Lorna Regina ‘Loren’ Legarda reminded Dizon that the Senate’s decision to slash DPWH funding was largely based on the secretary’s responses during budget deliberations and other hearings.
According to Legarda, they would have listened to Dizon’s proposal if he made it during the budget deliberations: “If you told us during the hearing that we should not cut the budget, then the chair would have not made cuts, but there’s nothing like this, but I’m not blaming you, it’s just I don’t think there’s a misunderstanding, it’s unlikely that the entire Senate including the leadership will fail to understand you.” she said.