In the 2025 national budget, appropriations for DPWH programs, activities, and projects (PAPs) were substantially reduced. On Thursday, the President met with DPWH officials at Malacañan Palace to discuss the agency’s budget review under the Fiscal Year 2025 General Appropriations Act and the FY 2025 National Expenditure Program.
“We requested PhP70 billion, but lawmakers allocated only PhP23 billion,” the President stated, emphasizing the need to focus on projects that will significantly impact people’s lives.
President Marcos also urged the DPWH to prioritize the maintenance of agency projects, feasibility studies, and right-of-way issues.
The 2025 General Appropriations Act (GAA) saw budget reductions in various DPWH PAPs, including payments for right-of-way (ROW), contractual obligations, Value Added Tax, and other taxes; pre-feasibility and feasibility studies; primary and detailed engineering; public-private partnership strategic support fund; and the KAlsada TUngo sa PAliparan, Riles, at DaungAN (KATUPARAN) Program.
Additionally, the budget for the agency’s Bridge Program, Network Development Program, Tourism Road Infrastructure Program (TRIP), Roads Leveraging Linkages of Industry and Trade (ROLL-IT) Program, and foreign-assisted projects was also reduced.
Despite these cuts, the total budget for the DPWH increased by PhP188.80 billion, or 20.98 percent, from the proposed PhP900 billion in the FY 2025 National Expenditure Program to PhP1,088.80 billion in the FY 2025 GAA.
