Rowegie Abanto

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

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<p>MANILA — The head of the Department of Public Works and Highways admitted Wednesday that congressmen&#x27;s say on who should get the crucial district engineer position is being &quot;considered&quot; but stressed that it is not a key factor in the decision.</p><p>DPWH Secretary Manuel Bonoan issued this statement after Sen. Panfilo Lacson alleged Monday that <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vzK37CbH6c4">&quot;most&quot; of the agency&#x27;s district engineers were &quot;lobbied&quot; by congressmen</a>.</p><p>&quot;Although hindi naman pareho &#x27;yung jurisdiction nila, pero nag-o-overlap &#x27;yan. Iba &#x27;yung engineering district kaysa sa legislative district, pero more often than not, either pareho or nag-o-overlap,&quot; Lacson said.</p><p>&quot;So may influence ngayon &#x27;yung congressmen sa DPWH kung sino &#x27;yung gusto nilang i-appoint na district engineer para kontrolado nila,&quot; he alleged.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/8/26/engineer-urged-to-become-state-witness-to-expose-corruption-in-dpwh-system-1504">Engineer urged to become &#x27;state witness&#x27; to expose &#x27;corruption in DPWH system&#x27;</a></div><p>Speaking on ANC, Bonoan said he &quot;cannot discount the fact&quot; that such a system is in place to maintain &quot;cooperation&quot; in the districts.</p><p>But he said congressmen&#x27;s wishes are &quot;not a principal consideration for the posting of the district engineers.&quot;</p><p>Bonoan explained that a formal process is followed in hiring a district engineer and applicants&#x27; qualifications are &quot;stringently looked into.&quot;</p><p>A committee evaluates their qualifications, he added.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/regions/2025/8/26/coa-orders-inspection-of-ongoing-completed-flood-control-projects-in-bulacan-1800">COA orders inspection of ongoing, completed flood control projects in Bulacan</a></div><p>The DPWH chief, meanwhile, said that he wanted to reinstate a policy in which district engineers are rotated every three years to prevent corruption.</p><p>This practice, he said, had been halted after they did replacements for retiring engineers and other circumstances.</p><p>&quot;We are looking into this policy again, so that probably, we can institute [it] again,&quot; he said.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>DPWH CHIEF VOWS CASES VS CORRUPT OFFICERS, CONTRACTORS</strong></div><div><br/></div><p>Bonoan is bearing the pressure of cleansing the agency and mounting calls to resign following allegations of corruption involving some personnel in relation to flood control and other infrastructure projects.</p><p>But he again said he <a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/8/22/dpwh-chief-on-resign-calls-president-told-me-to-continue-probe-0922">serves at the pleasure </a>of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.</p><p>He added that investigations into the flood control projects flagged by Marcos were ongoing.</p><p>He vowed to file cases against those behind the alleged &quot;ghost&quot; flood control projects in Bulacan.</p><p>The official earlier said <span style="margin:0px;padding:0px">that he had <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EA9HNXI7t7c" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">sacked DPWH personnel in Bulacan&#x27;s first district</a> after the discovery of alleged non-existent flood mitigation projects. </span></p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/8/19/dpwh-chief-admits-existence-of-ghost-flood-control-projects-vows-probe-1233">DPWH chief admits existence of &#x27;ghost&#x27; flood control projects, vows probe</a></div><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/regions/2025/8/18/bulacan-official-to-recommend-own-audit-of-flood-control-projects-in-province-1601">&#x27;Nagulat kami&#x27;: Bulacan vice gov says to recommend own audit of flood control projects in province</a></div><div><br/></div><div><strong>ALLEGED BRIBE ATTEMPT</strong></div><div><br/></div><p>Bonoan said they were looking into the accomplices of DPWH Batangas First District Engineer Abelardo Calalo, who was arrested on Friday in Taal, Batangas, for allegedly attempting to bribe Batangas First District Rep. Leandro Leviste with P3.1 million to block the inquiry into the supposed anomalies in the province&#x27;s flood control projects.</p><p>The district engineer now faces charges of direct bribery, corruption of public officials, graft, and violation of the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/regions/2025/8/26/leviste-files-raps-vs-batangas-engineer-over-alleged-bribe-attempt-1254">Leviste files raps vs Batangas engineer over alleged bribe attempt</a></div><p>Calalo has been suspended for 90 days &quot;to secure documents in his office,&quot; Bonoan said, adding that administrative cases would also be filed against him.</p><p>&quot;We will do it expeditiously as we can,&quot; he said.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/8/13/dpwh-probe-focuses-on-flood-control-projects-under-15-contractors-flagged-by-marcos-1046">DPWH probe focuses on flood control projects under 15 contractors flagged by Marcos</a></div><div><br/></div><div><strong>RELATED VIDEO: </strong></div><div><strong><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/EA9HNXI7t7c?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span></strong><br/></div>

<p>The head of the Department of Public Works and Highways admitted Wednesday that congressmen's say on who should get the crucial district engineer position is being "considered" but stressed that it is not a key factor in the decision.</p>

The head of the Department of Public Works and Highways admitted Wednesday that congressmen's say on who should get the crucial district engineer position is being "considered" but stressed that it is not a key factor in the decision.

Congressmen's say in district engineer post 'considered,' but not a key factor: DPWH chief

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Congressmen's say in district engineer post 'considered,' but not a key factor: DPWH chief

Rowegie Abanto,

ABS-CBN News

Published Aug 27, 2025 12:27 PM PHT

Read More:

DPWH

Manuel Bonoan

flood control

Abelardo Calalo

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