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Senate carefully studying possible 15-20% cut o

Article (news)

Victoria Tulad

ABS-CBN News

MANILA (UPDATED) — The Senate is carefully studying implementing a possible 15 to 20 percent reduction in budget for infrastructure projects under the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), according to Finance Committee Chairperson Sherwin &quot;Win&quot; Gatchalian.He said that the committee has found that some projects could be done at a lower price while the funding for others is justified, especially since some road projects really cost a lot.“So, pag cinut namin across the board, madadamay pati yung murang project at yung justified na project,” he said.(If we cut across the board, the lower-priced projects and the ones with justified costs will also be affected)He said the committee may just cut the 15-20% from proposed road projects.<div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/10/20/gatchalian-says-p271-b-red-flags-in-2026-dpwh-budget-2019">Gatchalian says P271-B &#x27;red flags&#x27; in 2026 DPWH budget</a></div>Gatchalian also mentioned that budget deliberations at the committee level will run until Tuesday, October 28, and budget sponsorship will be on November 11.Departments and offices that still need to go through deliberations include the DPWH and Public Attorney’s Office (PAO).The Senate required additional submissions from DPWH because of &quot;repeated projects&quot; and others that had generic titles.“So hindi na tayo papayag generic dahil nga naabuso dito yung source ng ghost project. Kaya we requested them na lagyan ng details,” Gatchalian explained.(We will no longer allow generic titles because these have been abused and have become sources of ghost projects. We requested them to put more details)He emphasized that there will be no extension given to the DPWH and projects it cannot give details for will be cut from the budget.<div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/10/23/dizon-says-no-documents-related-to-flood-control-probe-were-lost-in-fire-2227">Dizon says no documents related to flood control probe were lost in fire</a></div>The senator previously estimated around P348 billion more that can be cut from DPWH’s proposed 2026 budget due to supposed red flags and overpricing.He said items that the DPWH cannot justify will be transferred to other programs.“Tulad ng education that’s number one. Health, dahil marami tayong mga hospital na hindi pa funded. And defense. Nagre-request ang [Department of National Defense] additional sa modernization,” Gatchalian said.(We could put that in education, that&#x27;s Number One. Or health, because we have many hospitals that are unfunded. And defense. The DND requested additional funds for modernization)<div> </div><div>SALN</div>Gatchalian is one of the few senators who has either authorized the release of their Statement of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth (SALN) or directly released it to the media.He declared assets worth P89, 521,016.57 and no liabilities.<div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/10/23/gatchalian-releases-saln-1927">Gatchalian releases SALN</a></div>He said releasing one’s SALN will help regain the public’s trust.“Yung laki ng SALN… para sa akin, hindi mahalaga. Ang importante, saan mo kinukuha yung source ng income mo? Pag lumaki yun, may legitimate source ka, then mabuti. Pero kung lumaki yun, hindi legitimate yung source mo, then may problema,” Gatchalian remarked.(The size of the net worth is not that important. What matters is what the source of income is. If that grows, as long as it&#x27;s from a legitimate source, then good. But if it grows and there is no legitimate source that is a problem)He said the his current SALN only has a small difference from his 2024 SALN saying he has not done much business since being elected into office.

The Senate is carefully studying implementing a possible 15 to 20 percent reduction in budget for infrastructure projects under the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), according to Finance Committee Chairperson Senator Sherwin "Win" Gatchalian.

The Senate is carefully studying implementing a possible 15 to 20 percent reduction in budget for infrastructure projects under the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), according to Finance Committee Chairperson Senator Sherwin "Win" Gatchalian.

Senate studying 15-20% cut in DPWH infra projects

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Senate studying 15-20% cut in DPWH infra projects

Victoria Tulad,

ABS-CBN News

Published October 24, 2025 06:35 PM PHT

|

Updated October 26, 2025 09:19 AM PHT

Read More:

Win Gatchalian

Senate

DPWH

Department of Public Works and Highways

2026 Budget

Finance

SALN

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