The House will not take away funds from education, health and social services to augment the proposed 2027 budget of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), lawmakers assured.
Surigao del Sur Representative Romeo Momo Sr., chair of the House Committee on Public Works and Highways and vice chair of the Committee on Appropriations, said any additional funding for the DPWH would instead be sourced from other government agencies that also implement infrastructure projects.
“In short po, kung maglipat man ng pondo sa DPWH, ito’y galing po sa mga ahensya na nag-i-implementa din ng imprastruktura,” Momo said during a press briefing by the House Committee on Appropriations infrastructure cluster.
“Rest assured po that nothing that goes to DPWH will be taken away from education, health, and social services.”
“Rest assured po that nothing that goes to DPWH will be taken away from education, health, and social services,” the legislator stressed.
“Hindi namin gagawin mga ’yon po. Dadagdagan pa nga natin ’yon,” the lawmaker added.
He said the House sees no need to choose between addressing the country’s infrastructure requirements and providing adequate funding for schools, hospitals and social protection programs. Instead, lawmakers intend to address the requirements of these sectors simultaneously as they scrutinize the proposed ₱7.2-trillion national budget for 2027.
Momo said the House would look at infrastructure-implementing agencies that have historically shown lower absorptive capacity in determining where additional funding for DPWH projects could be sourced.
“Ang kukunin lang natin, kung saan ’yung imprastruktura na mga ahensya na nag-i-implementa ng imprastruktura na hindi nila, sa tingin namin, historically, na ’yung kanilang absorptive capacity ay hindi masyado mataas.”
“Ang kukunin lang natin, kung saan ’yung imprastruktura na mga ahensya na nag-i-implementa ng imprastruktura na hindi nila, sa tingin namin, historically, na ’yung kanilang absorptive capacity ay hindi masyado mataas, doon natin titingnan na pwede nating makuhanan,” he said.
The briefing was part of a series being conducted consistent with the directives of Speaker Faustino “Bojie” G. Dy III to keep the public updated on congressional deliberations on the proposed 2027 national budget.
