COVID-19 pandemic delayed implementation of P108 billion worth of infra projects — DPWH

The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) on Tuesday explained the non-implementation of some P108.3 billion worth of infrastructure projects cited in a report by state auditors.

At a Senate hearing, DPWH Undersecretary for Planning, PPP, and Information Management Service Maria Catalina Cabral attributed the delay in the rollout of projects to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We admit that there are really delays and challenges in implementation, especially in 2020 and right now in 2021 because of the pandemic,” she told senators.

“Our procurement process was also affected since last year we had three months I think of really hard lockdown,” she added.

Cabral made the statement in response to queries of Senator Imee Marcos regarding the reported 3,283 infrastructure projects which were not implemented, with a cumulative worth of P108.3 billion.

Resigned DPWH Secretary Mark Villar in April said the administration’s ambitious “Build, Build, Build” infrastructure program would continue as planned despite the pandemic.

Cabral said the department is now boosting its efforts to ramp up digitization to speed up procurement efforts, and eliminate the need for prospective suppliers to appear in person to submit documentary requirements.

“There’s really challenges causing delays, particularly procurement that we really have to up our digital technology para po [so that] even [the] procurement, even with restricted transportation, we can already accept bids from across the country even if you’re not going personally to submit documents,” she said.

“Challenges on supply of construction materials and labor itself, aside from the fact that the cost of infra projects may increase because of social distancing,” she added.

Cabral said the department has also streamlined the process for acquiring right-of-way, with a centralized system for processing to facilitate payment and validation.

“We anticipate faster processing. The only challenges are, of course, the documentation for the submission and validation of this right-of-way claim,” she said.

The DPWH said it has also secured the support of the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) to tap lawyers for the right-of-way acquisition program.  — VBL, GMA News