What is some P147.283 billion in duplicate projects doing in the budget of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) for 2022?
Sen. Panfilo “Ping” M. Lacson raised this issue Tuesday as he pointed out the duplicate projects under the “Convergence and Special Support Program” in the agency’s proposed budget.
“We note that under the program ‘Convergence and Special Support Program,’ there is apparent duplication of projects, particularly under the Sustainable Infrastructure Projects Alleviating Gaps (SIPAG) and Basic Infrastructure Program (BIP),” Lacson said at the deliberations on the budget of the DPWH for 2022.
He noted that there is a need to distinguish between the projects under SIPAG and BIP with similar descriptions:
* Roads leading to strategic public buildings: P47.976 billion under SIPAG and P10.2215 billion under BIP
* Flood mitigating structures: P38.623 billion under SIPAG and P6.378 billion under BIP
* Roads that traverse multiple LGUs: P11.801 billion under SIPAG and P1.501 billion under BIP
* Multi-purpose buildings: P9.622 billion under SIPAG and P17.205 billion under BIP
* Coastal roads/causeways: P1.842 billion under SIPAG and P215 million under BIP
* Roads leading to IP communities: P253 million under SIPAG and P1.643 billion under BIP
In all, the duplicate projects include P110.118 billion under SIPAG and P37.164 billion under BIP.
As such, Lacson said the DPWH should distinguish between such projects of “similar description” under SIPAG and BIP.
“If the projects under SIPAG and BIP are identical, why do we need to have two separate sub-programs?” he added.
While corruption may not yet be present in the projects as the Senate is still deliberating on the issue, duplicate project entries exposes public funds to misuse.
