DPWH hit over project delays

MANILA, Philippines — Public Works Secretary Mark Villar should crack the whip in his department, which apparently has been sluggish in implementing the Duterte administration’s P8-trillion “Build, Build, Build” flagship program, senators said yesterday.

Senators Grace Poe and Aquilino Pimentel III made the comment after President Duterte warned Villar and other department heads that they will be held accountable for any delays in government projects.

“Maybe Secretary Villar should find out what’s really happening on the ground. The President does not know the problems but the secretary should know,” Pimentel told radio station dzBB.

The senator suggested that Villar should have a “heart-to-heart” talk with Duterte, especially that the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) continues to struggle in spending its huge budget.

“One problem is the absorptive capacity of an agency. It is the same DPWH, the same government structure, and you pour in times two (of the funding), when it can’t spend times one of its budget,” he said.

There might be a need to “put more people or expand the department,” according to Pimentel.

Poe, who chairs the Senate committee on public services, lamented the poor absorptive capacity of the DPWH and other agencies.

She said the administration pressed Congress to approve new taxes to fund “Build, Build, Build” but apparently the revenues are being wasted.

“Hundreds of billions are unspent from the budget because of our poor absorptive capacity. Which makes us reflect if an increase in taxes is necessary at this point when the public is suffering from the effects of inflation,” Poe said.

The Commission on Audit (COA) has reported that the DPWH failed to utilize 66.4 percent or P440 billion of its P662.69-billion allocated budget for 2017.

While the DPWH was able to obligate 92.19 percent or P610.93 billion of its allotted budget for 2017, only P222.66 billion or 34.14 percent was actually disbursed as of yearend, the COA said.

The state audit agency also cited the “delayed/non-implementation of infrastructure projects” as the primary reason for the DPWH’s low fund disbursement.

It said the DPWH’s inability to efficiently utilize its budget was apparent in the last three years, as the agency was only able to disburse 34.14 percent or P185.12 billion of its P542.23-billion allotted budget in 2016 and 34.03 percent or P148.23 billion of the P435.58-billion allotted budget in 2015.

“This indicates that the management was not able to effectively manage the increasing amount of funds entrusted to the agency due to low physical delivery of target projects and activities,” the COA said.

Earlier, Duterte called the attention of department secretaries, particularly Villar, over the delay in government projects.