Late Tuesday night, the bicameral conference committee finally resumed discussions on the proposed ₱6.7 trillion national budget for 2026.
But one major agency was left waiting.
Lawmakers from both chambers agreed to defer deliberations on the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH)—not because of politics, but because the numbers simply weren’t ready.
And the task at hand was massive.
Senate finance committee chair Senator Win Gatchalian explained that DPWH recently submitted revised adjustment factors for construction material costs. These changes needed to be applied to 10,000 projects nationwide.
That alone was enough to slow everything down.
“I would like to apologize for the delay,” Gatchalian said.
“We just received the revised adjustment factors and applied them to 10,000 projects.”
He paused, then gave lawmakers a sense of scale.
“When we applied the previous adjustment factors, it took us three weeks to finish all 10,000 projects,” he said.
“And now, we are racing against a very tight timetable.”
Earlier that morning, Senate staff had already begun recalculating the figures. But time ran out.
“They couldn’t complete it by this time,” Gatchalian admitted.
“They need more time. Still, the team assured me everything will be ready by tomorrow.”
With DPWH numbers still incomplete, Gatchalian proposed a practical move—continue deliberations on other agencies instead.
These included the Department of Agrarian Reform and the Department of the Interior and Local Government.
The House agreed.
House appropriations committee chair Rep. Mikaela Suansing acknowledged the complexity of the task and expressed understanding.
“I understand the level of work that goes into processing this data,” she said.
“With that, the House looks forward to seeing the output of this new exercise.”
For now, DPWH would wait.
“We hope we can proceed with other agencies first,” Suansing added,
“and tackle DPWH once the information is ready.”
Earlier in the day, Senator Francis Pangilinan confirmed that lawmakers were still operating with incomplete data.
“We just have preliminary numbers,” he told reporters.
“We still have to wait—and cross-check.”
The delay, however, was not without tension.
The Senate had already postponed bicam proceedings on Monday, December 15—a decision that was not initially shared with the House.
At the heart of the issue was the DPWH budget itself.
The House approved a ₱624 billion allocation—already reduced from the agency’s original ₱880 billion proposal.
But the Senate went even further.
Lawmakers slashed the budget to ₱570 billion, citing statements made by DPWH Secretary Vince Dizon during earlier hearings—that several projects were overpriced.
For now, the message from both chambers is clear:
No shortcuts.
No rushed numbers.
And no DPWH deliberations—until every figure adds up.
