Senator Win Gatchalian said corruption should not hinder government infrastructure spending or this could stall economic growth and development.

The chair of the Senate Committee on Finance, Gatchalian, argued that corruption should be addressed through accountability and prosecution, not by cutting infrastructure programs that are essential to economic growth.

“Corruption cannot be the reason to remove infrastructure programs, or else our people will suffer. The solution for corruption is to jail people, file cases, and make them accountable,” he said.

The Department of Public Works and Highways’ budget allocation for this year has been reduced to P521 billion. At just 4.5% of the GDP, such budget allocation falls short of the ideal 5% target and marks the agency’s lowest allocation in recent years.

“After the flood control exploded, there was a slowdown in infrastructure spending.  So there’s a lot of money left for infrastructure that can be continued for 2026. We need to adjust. This can’t be a permanent thing. We still need to spend 5% of GDP or more for infrastructure,” he emphasized.