Bicam postponed as Senate, House reach deadlock over DPWH budget

MANILA, Philippines — Lawmakers failed to reconcile their versions of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) budget on Monday, December 15, with the Senate opting to postpone the bicameral conference committee proceedings.

Monday's session followed a tense back-and-forth on Sunday over the DPWH's proposed funding, during which lawmakers suspended rules and allowed Public Works Secretary Vince DIzon to directly appeal to the Senate to restore a P45 billion cut.

Senate Finance Committee Chair Sherwin Gatchalian, however, said that the Senate's reduction of the DPWH budget was based on the data submitted by the DPWH itself.

According to Gatchalian, the agency revised construction material prices to reflect market rates, but the figured embedded in its budget remains on the high end.

Senate stands firm on cuts. Gatchalian said senators were intent on removing the overpricing and would stand by the reduction. Dizon, however, has stated that lowering the DPWH budget puts around 10,000 projects at risk. 

The House of Representatives sided with the DPWH, arguing that the reduced funding could deprive communities of essential public works projects.

Bicam postponed

"After the caucus, we said to postpone the bicam today… to be able to resolve this issue with the House and the DPWH," Gatchalian said. 

He acknowledged that discussions had reached a "deadlock," but said efforts to find a compromise with the House and the DPWH would continue.

While senators did not appear at the Philippine International Convention Center for the scheduled continuation of the bicam, their House counterparts did.

House Appropriations Chair and Nueva Ecija Rep. Mikaela Suansing said the House was ready to proceed despite the Senate's decision to postpone. Every day was important to make sure deliberations were finished on time, she reasoned. 

While she affirmed that the price of materials allotted to the DPWH should not be overpriced, reducing the agency's budget may leave their projects "un-implementable." 

The DPWH has been at the center of a major corruption scandal, with billions of pesos suspected to have been siphoned off through irregular infrastructure projects. The scandal has implicated senators, House legislators and even officials from the executive branch. 

This year's bicameral conference is the first to be livestreamed, part of an effort to win back public trust. — with reports from Dominique Flores