No papers, no funds: Lopez vows ‘precise, calculated’ leadership at DPWH

MANILA — Newly-installed Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Secretary Giovanni “Banoy” Lopez on Thursday vowed to withhold funding releases for infrastructure projects that lack sufficient supporting documents, including those inserted into the proposed 2027 national budget.

Lopez said the department would require adequate documentation to justify projects before requesting the release of funds, warning that allocations for projects that cannot be implemented could end up as wasted public money.

“Ang mindset ko ngayon, mas maganda na hindi mai-release ang pondo rather than it becomes a wastage of funds kasi hindi mo ma-implement, mag-sasavings na lang siya, babalik sa pera ng bayan,” Lopez said in an interview on DZMM.

The proposed P7.2-trillion national budget for 2027 faced scrutiny over infrastructure allocations added during House deliberations, with budget watchdogs flagging thousands of projects that allegedly lack supporting documents.

Lopez said President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. had instructed him to institutionalize reforms introduced by his predecessor, Vince Dizon, who swapped positions with Lopez this week to lead the Department of Transportation.

“We have each other’s strengths. At si Secretary Vince po kasi, [d]isruptor ‘yan. Babaguhin niya talaga ‘yung bulok na sistema. Ako po kasi I was trained, modesty aside medyo precise, medyo calculated,” he said. 

Lopez said his priority was to make the reforms permanent, particularly in budget preparation, procurement, fund disbursement and project implementation.

“Alalahanin po natin ang naging problema dito. Problema sa pagpeprepare ng budget, nagsimula po dyan. Nagkaproblema sa procurement. Problema rin sa disbursement, sa project implementation,” he said.

“Sa sobrang galing nga nila, nakapag-disburse sila nang malaki wala namang proyekto kaya nga nagka-ghost project. So ‘yan ‘yung mga binago at binabago ni Secretary Vince. At ngayon po ang trabaho ko ay gawin itong permanente,” he said.

Lopez said a project’s budget allocation should be examined alongside its scope and supporting documents, rather than treated as the sole indicator of irregularity.

“It’s a legitimate question. Ang unang tinitignan is the amount na ilagay, the amount of the budget. Pero kapag nagbabudget ka kasi, ang maayos na preparation of budget, kailangan meron mga supporting documents,” he said.

These include a program of work, feasibility study or master plan, as applicable, as well as a Certificate of Implementability introduced under Dizon’s leadership.

Lopez also cited the Certificate of No Objection, which helps ensure that local government units are consulted about proposed infrastructure projects.

“Ibig sabihin meron tamang pakikipag-ugnayan sa lokal na pamahalaan. Para maalam nila na may proyektong ganoon. Kasi minsan hindi alam ng LGU na may proyekto pala. So these are all supporting documents,” he said.

“Sa amin po, kapag may dokumento, may sapat na batayan, paninindigan namin ‘yan. Kung wala, pasensya na tayo.”

The People’s Budget Coalition has flagged thousands of infrastructure projects in the House-approved version of the proposed 2027 budget, including multipurpose buildings and local access roads. 

Lopez said he would examine the flagged projects to determine whether they have sufficient justification.

Lopez said projects added through budget amendments could be classified as for later release (FLR), requiring the department to establish that the necessary conditions had been met before requesting the release of funds.

“Ang pagpapalabas ng for later release ay kailangan manggaling sa inisyatibo ng department din. Ibig sabihin hihingi siya ngayon ng SARO at sasabihin niya ito ang requirements, ito ang program of work. Walang mga batayan na mailabas, hindi po namin masusumite. Ibig sabihin matetengga din lang ang pera,” he said.

A Special Allotment Release Order (SARO) authorizes an agency to incur obligations against a government allotment, subject to applicable budget rules.

Lopez said the department would not seek the release of funds for projects it could not justify or implement.

He also stressed that a project with a large allocation should not automatically be considered questionable if its scope and supporting documents justify the amount.

“For example, sa isang kalsada ng isang kilometro, sabihin natin ‘yan ay naidagdag, either department amendment, department initiative or galing mismo ‘yan sa Kongreso, kung ‘yan nilagyan ng budget allocation of P50 million or P500 million, talagang [m]agtataka ang isang tao kasi bakit ganoon isang kilometro?” he said.

“But ito ba isa talagang malaking proyekto? Ako alam ko ang malalaking proyekto tulad sa DOTr, malalaki lahat ‘yan. So hindi na nakakagulat na isang proyekto aabot ng P2 billion, P3 billion. Ang palagi kong sinasabi, tignan niyo–tignan natin kapag may supporting documents. Kasi kapag may program of work na naka-attach ‘yan, it will justify the amount included or the amount inserted by way of amendment,” he added. 

Lopez said he would not immediately bring in a new leadership team, citing the need to maintain operations and accelerate public spending during the transition.

He said the DPWH has around 70,000 employees and handles an average of approximately 20,000 projects.

“Sa ngayon, ‘yung pagdadala ng bagong team, medyo counter-productive at this point in time. Especially na naghahabol ako ng public spending,” he said. “‘Yung unang pagpupulong namin nakita ko ‘yung programa nila, maayos din ang mga andyan ngayon. Hindi ko pa iniisip ‘yun.”

Lopez also said he had not asked department officials to submit courtesy resignations.

He added that officials could be replaced if they failed to perform their duties.