DPWH overhaul sought to curb corruptionMANILA, Philippines — A sweeping reorganization of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) aimed at curbing corruption and plugging procurement loopholes is being pushed in the Senate following recent Blue Ribbon committee investigations. Filed on Feb. 11 by Senate President Vicente Sotto III, Senate Bill 1835 seeks to significantly reduce the powers of DPWH district offices, which figured prominently in corruption schemes in several cases probed by the chamber like the Bulacan first district engineering office. Consequently, district offices will be relegated to supervision, monitoring and recommendatory roles to strengthen oversight on the ground. At the national level, the DPWH will be reorganized according to key infrastructure project types to decentralize project preparation and implementation. DPWH reshufflePublic Works Secretary Vince Dizon has conducted another reshuffle in the DPWH, this time focused on district engineer and assistant district engineer level positions in the department that has been at the center of the ghost flood control scandal since last year.
