ACT Teachers Representative and Deputy Minority Leader Antonio Tinio warned that the public should expect massive congressional insertions in the DPWH budget in the House version of the General Appropriations Bill (GAB) that will be brought to plenary in September, as he exposed the continuing prevalence of pork barrel in the agency’s budget during interpellation at the House of Representatives on Thursday, August 27.
Tinio revealed that the DPWH plans to submit institutional amendments to the National Expenditure Program (NEP), effectively introducing changes to the budget after its initial submission. He noted that while the agency insists these are not technically “errata” but “amendments,” the result is the same: projects not originally included in the NEP will be inserted, and these will be subject to For Later Release (FLR), causing delays.
“In short, there will be congressional—well, the usual term for that is insertions. And amendments. So expect that there would be big changes in the GAB,” Tinio said, citing the admission of DPWH officials that such amendments will be subject to FLR, which automatically means delay.
The lawmaker pointed to the agency’s own data showing that for 2026, out of 17,000 national projects, only 32% have been awarded as of the third quarter of August. He stressed that the standard timeline for project implementation has stretched to at least two years, regardless of project size.
“My point being, because of this system of errata, insertions, and so on, talagang ang standard na timeline sa pagpapatayo, at least 2 years. Whether malaking proyekto o maliit,” Tinio said. “Meaning, the pork barrel system is the major bottleneck to economic development and delivery of basic services—e.g., classrooms.”
Despite claims of reforms in the budget process, Tinio asserted that the pork barrel system remains intact. “Kahit sinabi niyong may reporma na, and nandito pa rin, magkakaroon ng congressional amendments, insertions, etc.,” he said.
Tinio indicated that he will continue his scrutiny of the DPWH budget, particularly on the issue of classroom construction.#
