SENATE President Vicente C. Sotto III has filed Senate Bill No. 1835, known as An Act Reorganizing the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and Rationalizing the Powers and Functions of the Central, Regional, and District Offices, to strengthen transparency, efficiency, and accountability in public infrastructure governance.
Sotto said public infrastructure plays a vital role in nation-building by generating employment and addressing essential needs such as safe roads, bridges, flood control systems, and other critical public works.
“As one of the departments receiving the largest budget allocations, Filipinos rightfully expect that every peso entrusted to the DPWH translates into safe, resilient, and responsive infrastructure,” Sotto said.
The measure revisits the DPWH’s mandate, powers, organizational structure, and operational framework, including the functions of its undersecretaries and assistant secretaries.
“It is imperative to revisit the organization of DPWH to identify where the gaps are and where opportunities for corruption may lie,” Sotto said.
“Through a rationalization of this department and its regional and district offices, we can ensure that corruption will no longer seep into its walls,” he added.
Under the bill, the Department Proper will be reorganized according to the key infrastructure projects under its mandate to decentralize project preparation and implementation and reduce opportunities for irregularities and delays.
One of the new introductions under this will is the Infrastructure Maintenance Services Unit which will be responsible for inspecting, monitoring, and evaluating completed projects and maintaining a centralized and publicly accessible infrastructure database to enhance transparency and allow citizens to track DPWH projects.
Regional offices will assume key functions previously handled at the district level, including project identification and bidding processes.
District offices will focus on supervision, monitoring, and recommendatory functions to strengthen oversight on the ground.
An Infrastructure Inspectorate Team shall also be created where no disbursement of payment shall be allowed, and said inspections will be streamed live in the official channels for transparency.
“This measure is about restoring public trust by rationalizing functions, strengthening monitoring mechanisms, and institutionalizing transparency to ensure that the people’s taxes are spent efficiently, honestly, and for the public good,” Sotto said.
Senate Bill No. 1835 is a legislative measure created as a result of the Blue Ribbon Committee hearings and is also expected to undergo committee deliberations in the coming weeks.
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