DND suggests scrapping of unfinished military infra projects under DPWH

The Department of National Defense (DND) on Thursday said it has recommended scrapping the unfinished military infrastructure projects under the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).

This was after Senate Finance Committee chairperson Sherwin Gatchalian, in a Senate hearing on the DND budget earlier this week, flagged the DPWH’s unfinished DPWH projects for the Philippine Air Force (PAF) in Pasay City.

“DND Secretary Gilberto C. Teodoro, Jr. recommended that the projects be scrapped, and explained that some projects under the program remained unfinished because funding was not sustained, and the infrastructures were left incomplete and/or unusable,” the DND said in a statement.

The unfinished projects in question were two multipurpose buildings worth P72 million and P51 million, respectively that were tagged as completed but remain unfinished.

Gatchalian also cited two other PAF projects worth P60 million and P17 million also lack complete funding.

GMA News Online has reached out to the DPWH about the DND's recommendation to scrap the unfinished projects and will publish the DPWH’s comment as soon as it is available.

The DND said the projects flagged in Tuesday’s Senate budget hearing were funded and managed by the DPWH through its Tatag ng Imprastraktura para sa Kapayapaan at Seguridad (TIKAS) Program.

Out of 944 approved TIKAS projects since 2019, only 648 have been completed with several left unfinished or unusable, according to the DND.

Following the hearing, Gatchalian vowed to transfer the P3 billion allocation for TIKAS projects from the DPWH to the DND for 2026 due to low completion rates and idle infrastructure projects.

“For 2026, ililipat na natin sa DND ang P3 billion. Ang mahalaga, matapos at mapakinabangan ng ating mga sundalo ang bawat piso ng pondo,” Gatchalian said.

(For 2026, we will transfer P3 billion to the DND. What is important is that our soldiers use and benefit from every peso of the funds.)

“Sayang naman yung mga gusali, nakatayo pero hindi nagagamit. Mas mainam na ang DND na mismo ang magpatupad ng mga proyekto dahil sila naman ang nakakaalam ng kanilang mga pangangailangan,” he added.

(What a waste that the buildings were constructed but are not being used. It’s better for the DND to implement the projects themselves because they know their needs.)

The DND backed Gatchalian's proposal and assured that they will put the funds to improve military infrastructure.

“Should the proposed transfer transpire, the DND shall ensure the judicious use of public funds, especially for the hardening of defense infrastructures aligned with our strategic basing and operational security requirements,” the DND added. — JMA, GMA Integrated News