DPWH officials allowed to sign infra contracts anew

MANILA, Philippines — Disregarding recommendations of the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI), Public Works Secretary Vince Dizon has sustained the power of regional directors and district engineers to disburse funds of the Department of Public Works and Highways.

Under Department Order (DO) 74, issued on June 10, Dizon also delegated to Public Works Undersecretary for support services Rio Espiritu “the approval of the notice of transfer of allocation, no limit.”

An NTA is a critical financial document issued by a state agency’s central office, transferring local fund allocations to regional and operating units.

Following its probe into the flood control scandal, the ICI had recommended to the DPWH to slash by at least half the levels of authority for project approvals of regional directors and district engineers to prevent a repeat of the large-scale stealing of funds.

DO 74 also grants Assistant Secretary for support services Genevieve Cuaresma and the financial service director the power to recommend NTA approvals – without any monetary limit.

In DO 74, Dizon amended the “levels of authority” of DPWH officials over infrastructure funds, particularly on the issuance of NTAs, disbursement vouchers, fund availability certificates and obligation requests and status.

DO 74 cancels DO 104 of 2021, while maintaining that all previous provisions unaffected by the amendment will remain valid.

Under DO 104’s old matrix, NTAs were processed and signed at the Service Director (Financial Service) and Assistant Secretary levels.

Dizon’s DO 74 explicitly elevates this to the undersecretary for support services, with no monetary limit.

While DO 104 sought strict control over major project expenses by checking undersecretaries at the P100-million mark, DO 74 completely rescinds that order while laying out a highly specialized, multi-tiered voucher cap system divided by transaction type: contractors, land acquisition, maintenance and other operating expenses (MOOE) and goods.

DO 74’s matrix

DO 74’s accompanying matrices set strict thresholds for the approval of disbursement vouchers across various types of transactions.

For the payment of contractors’ contracts, the undersecretary for operations is authorized to approve vouchers up to P100 million, while the assistant secretary is capped at P50 million.

Regional directors can clear payments of up to P300 million, while district engineers handle up to P100 million.

Unified Project Management Office (UPMO) cluster directors, bureau directors and service directors have no limit for projects under their respective purviews.

In cases of land and property acquisition, undersecretaries and assistant secretaries can approve disbursements of up to P100 million and P75 million, respectively.

UPMO cluster directors and public-private partnership service directors are limited to P50 million, although regional directors are granted unlimited approval authority for these payments.

District engineers can approve up to P10 million.

For the procurement of goods, UPMO, bureau and service directors are restricted to approving vouchers up to P5 million.

In contrast, undersecretaries and assistant secretaries can approve up to P100 million, while regional directors and district engineers are given no limit.

For MOOE, regional directors and district engineers operate with no monetary limits.

Undersecretaries, assistant secretaries and UPMO, bureau and service directors are capped at P100 million for MOOE vouchers.

ICI recommendation set aside

In an ICI letter to Dizon on Oct. 4, 2025 signed by the commission chairman, retired justice Andres Reyes Jr., it was noted that under past directives – specifically DO 195 series of 2022, alongside subsequent orders affirmed by former DPWH secretary Manuel Bonoan – the procurement caps for civil works were substantially elevated to ensure “highest efficiency.”

“However, in the course of the continuing investigation of this Commission in relation to anomalous flood control projects and corruption within the DPWH, it has come to our attention that the levels of authority for the procurement of civil works that were previously allowed by Bonoan should be decreased by at least half,” Reyes recommended.

The old rules permitted district engineering offices to handle up to P150 million (from P100 million) and regional engineering offices to procure up to P400 million (from P300 million).

Citing heightened corruption risks, the ICI urged the DPWH to slash these local procurement limits by at least half. The ICI recommended that the regional office ceiling be brought down from P400 million to P200 million, while the district engineering office limits be lowered from P150 million down to “at least P75 million.”

The matter of the high levels of authority thresholds of DPWH regional directors and district engineers had been raised by senators during the Senate Blue Ribbon committee hearings on the flood control scandal.

Dizon had expressed agreement with the concerns raised by the ICI and senators.

Naga upgrade

In another development, the DPWH will provide full support to the Naga City government for a modernized, pedestrian-friendly upgrade of its major thoroughfares.

Dizon and Mayor Leni Robredo led the inspection of the revamped M.T. Villanueva Avenue over the weekend.

The upgraded avenue features wider sidewalks, dedicated bike lanes, public utility vehicle stops, underground cabling and other pedestrian-oriented features designed to ensure safer and more comfortable travel for commuters and pedestrians.