FLY-BY-NIGHT and crooked contractors will no longer be allowed to take part in government infrastructure projects as part of the ongoing reforms at the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).
Public Works Secretary Vince Dizon said over the weekend that the move was on instructions of the president, in line with the reforms in the budget and implementation of government projects that the taxpayers’ money should go to their intended purposes.
Dizon said he will make sure there will be no piecemeal implementation or rehabilitation of projects, like what happened to the Maharlika Highway, a network of roads, expressways, bridges, and ferry services that connects the islands of Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao.
“This is the story of Maharlika, this is the story of other projects like the flyovers, and this is the story of the hanging bridges. The funds are always being distributed piecemeal. This is what President (Ferdinand Marcos Jr.) is changing. If we start something, we have to finish it,” added Dizon after he inspected unfinished and dilapidated projects in Pampanga and other parts of the country, which have remained unrepaired for the past five years.
He said he has assigned the review of the problematic projects to new, young and dynamic engineers to ensure that they will be completed this year and that their construction is of high quality.
“Hao-shao or fly-by-night contractors will be barred from government projects. Only legitimate contractors will be allowed to participate,” Dizon said.
DPWH project engineers said many government infrastructure projects were delayed primarily because of lack of funds, which are provided on a staggered basis.
Dizon said the DPWH will now release funds for infrastructure projects in a lump sum instead of in tranches.
The president has committed that all funds needed to complete priority projects by next year be fully included in the national budget, he said.
“The president’s commitment is that whatever funds are needed to finish the projects by next year must be already put in the budget,” Dizon said.
He gave assurances that the DPWH will implement only quality projects, using the right specifications of materials at the right price.
All heads of DPWH’s implementing offices were under strict orders to adhere to the latest guidelines in the procurement of construction materials, which uses existing market value in determining the prices of construction material in all government projects.
Dizon recently issued the Construction Materials Price Data (CMPD), which sets the guidelines and procedures for the establishment of construction materials prices, labor rates, and equipment rental rates pursuant to Department Order (DO) 125, series of 2025.
Effective immediately, the cost of construction materials for all government infrastructure projects will be based on prevailing market prices.
Before the CMPD, there was a difference of up to 50 percent between the cost of materials in DPWH projects and the actual market value, Dizon said.
The cost-cutting measure, he said, will give the government P60 billion in savings from the 2026 national budget, which could be spent instead on other sectors like education and health.
The P60 billion could build an additional 1,600 kilometers of concrete road and 1,000 additional kilometers of asphalt overlay, Dizon said.
