Marilyn Cahatol

Marcos Jr. orders DPWH to lower material costs for infra projects ‘by as much as 50 pct'

The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) building is seen in this photo taken on August 25, 2025. Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News

Article (news)

Job Manahan

ABS-CBN News

<p>MANILA (<strong>UPDATE</strong>)– President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Saturday ordered Public Works and Highways Secretary Vince Dizon to lower the costing of construction materials for government infrastructure projects by &quot;as much as 50 percent,&quot; saying some materials were found overpriced. </p><p>In his pre-departure speech before flying to Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia for the ASEAN Summit, the President said the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) screened construction items in its budget and they were found to be overpriced by around 50 percent. </p><p>Overpriced construction materials include asphalt, steel bar, and cement, among other things, according to Marcos. </p><p>&quot;In order to ensure that the costs of DPWH will reflect the costs of the market and to ensure that the people&#x27;s money is correctly spent, I have directed the DPWH Secretary to bring down the cost of materials by as much as 50 percent which will result in savings in the Capital Outlay spending of at least thirty to forty-five billion pesos,&quot; the President said. </p><p>&quot;This is money that we can use for services such as health, education, and food, that our people desperately need,&quot; he added. </p><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/business/2025/10/24/senate-studying-15-20-cut-in-dpwh-infra-projects-1835">Senate studying 15-20% cut in DPWH infra projects</a></div><p>Aside from this, Marcos, Jr. said the DPWH&#x27;s review of projects and contracts is still underway. </p><p>He also urged the agency to &quot;file cases against those who have perpetrated corruption.&quot; </p><p>In a chance interview with reporters, Dizon said this is still part of the agency&#x27;s reforms amid corruption on infrastructure projects. </p><p>&quot;I think kailangan na talaga nating seryosohin itong pagbabago, reporma sa DPWH. Itong directive ng ating Pangulo na ibaba… in some materials up to 50 percent ang presyo ng mga materyales sa pag-construct ng mga kalye, tulay, classroom, health center, at iba pang mga proyekto ng DPWH,&quot; Dizon said.  </p><p>&quot;I think this will be the single-biggest reform ever in the DPWH na in-announce ng Pangulo ngayon,&quot; he added. </p><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/10/22/fire-hits-dpwh-building-in-quezon-city-1350">Fire hits DPWH building; Ombudsman orders probe</a></div><p>The DPWH chief said they already began this reform for projects still being started this year. </p><p>It was better, he said, if other departments would join the cause in benchmarking and lowering the costs of the materials for their projects. </p><p>&quot;Marami talaga dito (construction materials) ay ang layo ng presyo sa merkado ng iba&#x27;t ibang mga materyales… Tingin ko puwede rin itong i-apply sa ibang mga departamento,&quot; he said. </p><p>&quot;Kung maibaba natin yan, automatic, ibinababa natin ang korapsyon. Automatic yun. Ikalawa, kailangan din natin i-monitor nang mabuti ang pagpapagawa,&quot; he said. </p><p>&quot;Ang substandard na proyekto, ang ghost projects, hindi lang yan nanggagaling sa presyo, nanggagaling yan sa pandaraya ng mga taga-DPWH kakuntsaba ang kung sino man,&quot; he added. </p><div><br/></div><div><strong>RELATED VIDEO:</strong></div><div style="text-align:center"><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/puHc3lZI5_A?si=n4LpvO1F5pA3zLLo" title="YouTube video player" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe><br/></div>

<p>President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. on Saturday ordered Public Works and Highways Secretary Vince Dizon to lower the costing of construction materials for government infrastructure projects by “as much as 50 percent,” saying some materials were found overpriced.</p>

President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. on Saturday ordered Public Works and Highways Secretary Vince Dizon to lower the costing of construction materials for government infrastructure projects by “as much as 50 percent,” saying some materials were found overpriced.