DPWH-7 seeks higher budget to spur infra spending in 2016

CEBU, Philippines - To spur infrastructure spending, the Department of Public Works and Highways in Central Visayas (DPWH-7) has proposed for a P16.96-billion budget for 2016.

DPWH-7 Regional Director Ador Canlas said this is 31 percent higher compared to its P12.9-billion budget this year. He expects the proposed budget to be approved within the year.

Cebu will get about half of the proposed budget at P9 billion. In this year's budget Cebu received P7 billion. DPWH had said that Cebu received P23.3 billion worth of infrastructure projects through the agency since 2010.

"The biggest bulk of the fund (for 2016) will be for roads," Canlas said at the sidelines of the Cebu Housing Summit 2015. "We are paving for the completion of the national roads, maintenance of the national roads, road rehabilitation, expansion and widening of roads."

Canlas said the agency is implementing 42 major infrastructure projects in Central Visayas this year.

Among these projects include road improvements in N. Bacalso Avenue, Medellin-Daanbantayan Road in northern Cebu, Marcelo Fernan Bridge, first Mandaue-Mactan Bridge, Ouano Road, Cebu North Road, Mactan Circumferential Road. In other provinces, projects include the Panglao Circumferential Road, Dumaguete North and South roads, and Tagbilaran North and Bypass roads, among others.

All these projects include widening, improvement and rehabilitation of roads, he said.

Canlas said his office was nearing half to complete the 42 major projects. "By the end of the year we're targeting 85% of the projects to be completed. The remaining projects will carry over in 2016," the official added.

While economists say the government's slow public spending has restrained economic growth, Canlas pointed out that DPWH's spending has actually been increasing every year. "If you compare our spending before, we are actually spending more now," he said.

The official also raised a concern the construction industry has not been able to keep up with the rising demand for infrastructure works from public and private sectors.

National Budget

Under the proposed P3.002-trillion 2016 national budget, the government aims to spend P766.5 billion for public infrastructure, up 35 percent from this year's P569.9-billion allocation. The 2016 allocation is about 5 percent of the country's gross domestic product and more than four times the state's P165-billion infrastructure spending in 2010.

The DPWH is to get the lion's share of the infrastructure budget at P268.4 billion for the pavement of national roads and construction of access roads to seaports, airports and tourist destinations. 

In a report last week, the Department of Budget and Management said DPWH's construction works led government infrastructure spending to grow by nearly a third in August but disbursements still fell short of target.

Infrastructure public spending totaled P25.4 billion in August, up 29.2 percent compared to P19.7 billion in same month last year. Although the sum was still 7 percent short of the P27.4-billion target for the month and less than the P38.3 billion disbursed in July.

Infrastructure spending in the first seven months of 2015 reached P214.2 billion, growing 21.5 percent from P176.2 billion in comparable period last year. (FREEMAN)