The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) is set to reduce the prices of construction materials used in government projects, following the directive of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. to eliminate overpricing and align costs with market rates.
In a press conference Monday, DPWH Secretary Vince Dizon said the initiative is part of a major reform within the agency.
“Major reform measure, the biggest single piece of reform that we will implement here in the DPWH, is to lower the amount of overpriced costs of materials,” Dizon said.
The move will prioritize essential materials such as cement, asphalt, sand, steel sheet piles, gravel, and steel bars. Dizon said the new pricing scheme will apply to 2026 projects and select unawarded projects this year.
According to the DPWH chief, this reform could save the government up to ₱60 billion from next year’s national budget.
“The translation of the lowering of prices are additional 1,600 km. of concrete roads, 1,000 km. of asphalt road,” he noted.
President Marcos earlier directed the DPWH to cut material prices by 50 percent without compromising infrastructure quality.
Meanwhile, the DPWH and the Philippine Space Agency (PhilSA) have signed a memorandum of agreement to enhance transparency and monitoring of infrastructure projects using satellite technology.
“This is very important; we want to work with PhilSA to be able to monitor better our projects. We need to use a technology. We want to thank PhilSA,” Dizon said, adding that the partnership marks a step toward “more transparency and a more effective way of monitoring.”