02/09/2025
๐ข๐ก ๐ง๐๐ ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ฎ๐ฒ ๐ก๐๐ฃ ๐๐๐ข๐ข๐ ๐๐ข๐ก๐ง๐ฅ๐ข๐ ๐ฃ๐ฅ๐ข๐๐๐๐ง๐ฆ: ๐๐๐๐ง๐ฆ, ๐๐๐๐ข๐จ๐ก๐ง๐๐๐๐๐๐ง๐ฌ, ๐๐ก๐ ๐ง๐๐ ๐ฅ๐ข๐๐ ๐ข๐ ๐ง๐๐ ๐๐๐
Recent posts have criticized Department of Budget and Management (DBM) Secretary Amenah F. Pangandaman for expressing frustration over questionable projects included in the 2026 National Expenditure Program ( ). Some even accuse her of complicity or negligence. These are serious allegationsโdeserving of equally serious clarification, ๐๐ฅ๐ข๐จ๐ก๐๐๐ ๐๐ก ๐๐๐๐ง ๐๐ก๐ ๐๐ก ๐๐๐ช.
Letโs set the record straight.
๐ญ. ๐๐๐ ๐๐ข๐๐ฆ ๐ก๐ข๐ง ๐ข๐ฅ๐๐๐๐ก๐๐ง๐ ๐ง๐๐ ๐๐๐ข๐ข๐ ๐๐ข๐ก๐ง๐ฅ๐ข๐ ๐ฃ๐ฅ๐ข๐๐๐๐ง ๐๐๐ฆ๐ง.
The ๐๐๐ ๐ฑ๐ผ๐ฒ๐ ๐ป๐ผ๐ ๐ฐ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐ถ๐ป๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ the list of flood control projects. These projects ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ด๐ถ๐ป๐ฎ๐๐ฒ ๐๐ผ๐น๐ฒ๐น๐ ๐ณ๐ฟ๐ผ๐บ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ฒ๐ฝ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐ฃ๐๐ฏ๐น๐ถ๐ฐ ๐ช๐ผ๐ฟ๐ธ๐ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐ถ๐ด๐ต๐๐ฎ๐๐ (๐๐ฃ๐ช๐), the governmentโs engineering and construction arm, as mandated under ๐๐
๐ฒ๐ฐ๐๐๐ถ๐๐ฒ ๐ข๐ฟ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ฎ๐ต๐ฎ (Administrative Code of 1987).
DPWH identifies, plans, and submits projects to DBMโalready ๐ฐ๐ผ๐ป๐๐ผ๐น๐ถ๐ฑ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐๐ฟ๐๐ฐ๐๐๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฑ per program and sub-program.
๐ฎ. ๐๐จ๐๐๐๐๐๐ก๐๐ฆ ๐๐ฅ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ฅโ๐๐๐๐ก๐๐๐๐ฆ ๐ ๐จ๐ฆ๐ง ๐ฉ๐๐ง ๐ง๐๐๐๐ฅ ๐ข๐ช๐ก ๐ฃ๐ฅ๐ข๐ฃ๐ข๐ฆ๐๐๐ฆ.
Every year, DBM issues the ๐ก๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป๐ฎ๐น ๐๐๐ฑ๐ด๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ฎ๐น๐น, with explicit instructions for agencies to:
โข Align national and regional priorities;
โข Vet projects for ๐ถ๐บ๐ฝ๐น๐ฒ๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ป๐ฒ๐๐;
โข Coordinate with ๐ฅ๐ฒ๐ด๐ถ๐ผ๐ป๐ฎ๐น ๐๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐น๐ผ๐ฝ๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐ ๐๐ผ๐๐ป๐ฐ๐ถ๐น๐ (๐ฅ๐๐๐); and
โข Comply with internal planning and budgeting standards.
In short: it is the ๐ฎ๐ด๐ฒ๐ป๐ฐ๐ ๐ต๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฑโ๐ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐ฝ๐ผ๐ป๐๐ถ๐ฏ๐ถ๐น๐ถ๐๐ to ensure that submitted proposals are complete, necessary, and free of duplication or anomalies.
Even ๐๐ฃ๐ช๐โ๐ ๐ผ๐๐ป ๐๐ฒ๐ฝ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐ ๐ข๐ฟ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ก๐ผ. ๐ณ, ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฒ๐ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ฎ๐ฎ requires RDC endorsement, technical justification (FS, HDM4, ROW, etc.), and readiness before a project is included.
๐ฏ. ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ฆ ๐ก๐ข ๐๐ก๐๐๐ก๐๐๐ฅ๐ฆ ๐ข๐ฅ ๐๐ฅ๐๐๐๐ง๐๐๐ง๐ฆ. ๐๐ฃ๐ช๐ ๐ฆ๐จ๐๐ ๐๐ง๐ง๐๐ ๐ข๐ฉ๐๐ฅ ๐ญ๐ฑ,๐ฌ๐ฌ๐ฌ ๐๐ข๐๐๐๐๐ฌ-๐๐จ๐ก๐๐๐ ๐๐ก๐ ๐๐ข๐ฅ๐๐๐๐ก ๐๐ฆ๐ฆ๐๐ฆ๐ง๐๐ ๐ฃ๐ฅ๐ข๐๐๐๐ง๐ฆ.
Letโs be realistic. The 2026 NEP includes ๐ญ๐ฑ,๐ญ๐ด๐ฐ ๐น๐ผ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐น๐น๐ ๐ณ๐๐ป๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ฐ๐ฌ ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ถ๐ด๐ป-๐ฎ๐๐๐ถ๐๐๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐๐ฃ๐ช๐ ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ผ๐ท๐ฒ๐ฐ๐๐, covering over ๐ณ๐ฌ๐ฌ ๐ฝ๐ฎ๐ด๐ฒ๐. The DBM is not equippedโlegally, technically, or structurallyโto vet the engineering and architectural validity of each flood control item. It has never done that, EVER. ๐ง๐ต๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ป๐ผ ๐ฐ๐ถ๐๐ถ๐น ๐ฒ๐ป๐ด๐ถ๐ป๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฐ๐ต๐ถ๐๐ฒ๐ฐ๐๐ ๐ฎ๐ ๐๐๐ . That is ๐ป๐ผ๐ its mandate.
๐ฐ. ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ง๐๐ข๐ก๐ฆ ๐๐ฅ๐ ๐ง๐ฅ๐จ๐ ๐ง๐๐๐ง ๐๐ฃ๐ช๐ ๐๐ก๐๐๐จ๐๐๐ ๐๐ข๐ ๐ฃ๐๐๐ง๐๐ ๐ฃ๐ฅ๐ข๐๐๐๐ง๐ฆ ๐๐ข๐ฅ ๐๐จ๐ก๐๐๐ก๐โ๐ง๐๐๐งโ๐ฆ ๐ ๐๐ฃ๐ช๐ ๐๐๐๐ข๐จ๐ก๐ง๐๐๐๐๐๐ง๐ฌ ๐๐ฆ๐ฆ๐จ๐.
The revelation that some projects submitted for funding in 2026 were already completed is deeply concerningโand ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐พ๐๐ถ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ ๐ฎ๐ป ๐ถ๐บ๐บ๐ฒ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ ๐ฒ๐
๐ฝ๐น๐ฎ๐ป๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐ณ๐ฟ๐ผ๐บ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ฃ๐ช๐. This is not a matter of โpalusotโ or โpaghuhugas-kamay.โ It is about assigning ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐ฝ๐ผ๐ป๐๐ถ๐ฏ๐ถ๐น๐ถ๐๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ถ๐ ๐๐ฟ๐๐น๐ ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐น๐ผ๐ป๐ด๐.
๐ฑ. ๐๐๐ โ๐ฆ ๐ฅ๐ข๐๐ ๐๐ฆ ๐ง๐ข ๐ฆ๐๐๐๐๐จ๐๐ฅ๐ ๐ง๐๐ ๐ ๐๐๐ฅ๐ข-๐๐จ๐๐๐๐ง๐๐ฅ๐ฌ ๐ฃ๐ฅ๐ข๐๐๐ฆ๐ฆ, ๐ก๐ข๐ง ๐ ๐๐๐ฅ๐ข๐ ๐๐ก๐๐๐ ๐ง๐๐๐๐ก๐๐๐๐ ๐ฃ๐ฅ๐ข๐๐๐๐ง๐ฆ.
The ๐๐๐ โ๐ ๐น๐ฒ๐ด๐ฎ๐น ๐บ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ, under the Administrative Code, is to ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฝ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐บ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฎ๐ด๐ฒ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ป๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป๐ฎ๐น ๐ฏ๐๐ฑ๐ด๐ฒ๐ in support of national development goals. It ensures alignment with fiscal policy, national priorities, and macroeconomic strategy. ๐๐ ๐ถ๐ ๐ป๐ผ๐ ๐๐ฎ๐๐ธ๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐๐ผ ๐๐ฎ๐น๐ถ๐ฑ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ ๐ฒ๐ป๐ด๐ถ๐ป๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐๐ถ๐๐ฒ-๐๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ๐ถ๐ฐ ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ผ๐ท๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ ๐ต๐ถ๐๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฒ๐.
To say otherwise is a ๐บ๐ถ๐๐๐ป๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ผ๐ณ ๐ด๐ผ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ป๐ฎ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐๐๐ฟ๐๐ฐ๐๐๐ฟ๐ฒ.
๐ฒ. ๐ ๐ข๐ฉ๐๐ก๐ ๐๐ข๐ฅ๐ช๐๐ฅ๐, ๐ช๐ ๐ฆ๐จ๐ฃ๐ฃ๐ข๐ฅ๐ง ๐๐ฅ๐๐๐ง๐๐ฅ ๐๐๐๐ข๐จ๐ก๐ง๐๐๐๐๐๐ง๐ฌ ๐๐ก ๐๐ฃ๐ช๐.
We are hopeful that with ๐ฆ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ ๐ฉ๐ถ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐๐ถ๐๐ผ๐ป now leading DPWH, stronger internal reforms and more rigorous project vetting will follow. Accountability does not end with one departmentโit must be embedded across the bureaucracy.
๐ณ. ๐ฌ๐ข๐จ ๐๐๐กโ๐ง ๐๐ ๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐ข๐จ๐ง ๐๐๐ข๐ข๐๐๐ก๐ ๐๐ก๐ ๐ง๐๐๐ก ๐๐๐ ๐๐ก๐ ๐ช๐ ๐ฆ๐๐ฅ๐๐ฃ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ข๐ข๐ ๐ฃ๐ฅ๐ข๐๐๐๐ง๐ฆ.
This conversation must be honest: we canโt decry floods and then criticize every proposed flood mitigation project. The issue is not the existence of flood control fundingโitโs about ensuring they are ๐ท๐๐๐๐ถ๐ณ๐ถ๐ฒ๐ฑ, ๐ป๐ผ๐ป-๐ฑ๐๐ฝ๐น๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐๐ฒ, ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ถ๐บ๐ฝ๐น๐ฒ๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ฎ๐ฏ๐น๐ฒ.
๐๐ข๐ง๐ง๐ข๐ ๐๐๐ก๐:
This is ๐ป๐ผ๐ ๐ฎ๐ฏ๐ผ๐๐ ๐ฝ๐ฎ๐๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฏ๐๐ฐ๐ธ. This is about ๐ด๐ผ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ป๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ผ ๐บ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ, ๐น๐ฎ๐, ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ฒ๐
๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐ถ๐๐ฒ. If there is abuse, the proper response is ๐ถ๐ป๐๐ฒ๐๐๐ถ๐ด๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ๐บโnot unfounded blame, not political theatrics.
๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ถ๐น๐ถ๐ฝ๐ถ๐ป๐ผ ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ผ๐ฝ๐น๐ฒ, ๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐ป ๐ฝ๐๐ฏ๐น๐ถ๐ฐ ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐ฎ๐ป๐๐, ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ด๐ต๐ ๐๐ผ ๐ฏ๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ด๐ฟ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ป ๐ฏ๐ถ๐น๐น๐ถ๐ผ๐ป๐ ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐บ๐ถ๐๐๐๐ฒ๐ฑ. ๐ฆ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ ๐๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฎ๐ต ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ด๐ฒ๐ฟ. ๐๐๐ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ด๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐บ๐๐๐ ๐น๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฑ ๐๐ผ ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ปโ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐บ๐๐๐ ๐ฏ๐ฒ ๐ฟ๐ผ๐ผ๐๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ถ๐ป ๐ณ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐๐, ๐น๐ฎ๐, ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐๐ฟ๐๐ฐ๐๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐น ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ผ๐๐ป๐๐ฎ๐ฏ๐ถ๐น๐ถ๐๐.
๐๐ฒ๐โ๐ ๐ฏ๐ฒ ๐ฐ๐น๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฟ: ๐๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ผ๐๐ป๐๐ฎ๐ฏ๐ถ๐น๐ถ๐๐ ๐ถ๐ ๐ป๐ผ๐ป-๐ป๐ฒ๐ด๐ผ๐๐ถ๐ฎ๐ฏ๐น๐ฒ. ๐๐๐ ๐น๐ฒ๐ ๐ถ๐ ๐ฏ๐ฒ ๐ด๐ฟ๐ผ๐๐ป๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ถ๐ป ๐๐ฟ๐๐๐ตโ๐ป๐ผ๐ ๐ป๐ผ๐ถ๐๐ฒ.
