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January 12, 2026 | 11:35am
MANILA, Philippines — Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Secretary Vince Dizon pledged on Monday, January 12, to scrap the so-called "parametric formula" used to determine district-level allocations, following allegations it was manipulated to allow corruption.
"The allocables will be gone. That allocable system — whatever it is, which to this day I still have a hard time understanding — is gone. We will do away with all of that. There will be no more favoritism and no more slipping projects in," he said at a press conference, speaking in a mix of English and Filipino.
Elaborating on the DPWH’s priorities for 2026, Dizon said one focus would be ending long-standing practices in which projects were funded at the behest of public officials rather than through proper planning and needs-based assessment.
"So the new formula will be based primarily on the needs of the areas of the district, of the province, of the municipality, and of the region... All projects must have a plan. All projects must be endorsed by the development councils," he said.
While the DPWH may still receive project requests from lawmakers or local officials, Dizon stressed that inclusion in the agency’s budget will require a concrete plan and clear cost calculations, ensuring that only well-vetted projects are funded.
"Just because someone endorsed a project doesn’t mean it automatically gets included in the budget. That’s gone. And projects without a plan, those are gone too," he said.
Nicasio Conti, the new DPWH Undersecretary for Planning and Public-Private Partnership Services, will roll out the new formula in the coming weeks. Dizon said the new system will ensure that all budget items are necessary and not added to benefit officials seeking their own cuts from allocations.
He also said a press briefing will be held once the new formula is ready, underscoring the agency’s commitment to transparency.
What's with the old formula?
The DPWH chief’s reforms come against the backdrop of long-standing questions about how the agency’s budget was prepared.
In previous years, allocations were shaped not only by requests from lawmakers and other officials but also by a formula developed by the late undersecretary Maria Catalina Cabral, which set district budget ceilings or "allocables" based on population and poverty levels.
At one of the flood control hearings, Cabral said the formula was created under the direction of former DPWH secretary Manuel Bonoan, whose whereabouts have been unknown since the investigations began.
The corruption scandal was further fueled by allegations that the House leadership in the 19th Congress ignored the agency’s formula, which had set budgets lower than in previous years, and submitted their own figures. Cabral’s legal counsel, Mae Divinagracia, said the late undersecretary had traced the adjustments to the office of resigned Rep. Elizaldy Co.
After Cabral's death, Rep. Leandro Leviste (Batangas, 1st District) released portions of a document he says he obtained from the DPWH with her authorization, showing that the districts of the president’s son, Rep. Sandro Marcos, and cousin, Rep. Martin Romualdez, benefited most from the "allocables."
The Office of the Ombudsman is now investigating the files to verify their authenticity and determine whether they match the names and figures listed under Cabral’s files.
Will Marcos approve the new formula?
Dizon said he is "quite certain" that President Bongbong Marcos would approve the new formula.
He said he "takes comfort in the fact that the president will not allow" Congress to override it for the sake of securing additional budget allocations.
Questions remain, however, about the chain of command when Cabral developed the parametric formula. If Bonoan instructed her to create it, did he also act on Marcos' orders?
