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The Department of Public Works and Highways ( fil, Kagawaran ng mga Pagawain at Lansangang Bayan}), abbreviated as DPWH, is the
executive department The Executive, also referred as the Executive branch or Executive power, is the term commonly used to describe that part of government which enforces the law, and has overall responsibility for the governance of a state. In political systems ba ...
of the Philippine government solely vested with the Mandate to “be the State's engineering and construction arm” and, as such, it is “tasked to carry out the policy” of the State to “maintain an engineering and construction arm and continuously develop its technology, for the purposes of ensuring the safety of all infrastructure facilities and securing for all public works and highways the highest efficiency and the most appropriate quality in construction” and shall be responsible for “(t)he planning, design, construction and maintenance of infrastructure facilities, especially national highways,
flood control Flood control methods are used to reduce or prevent the detrimental effects of flood waters."Flood Control", MSN Encarta, 2008 (see below: Further reading). Flood relief methods are used to reduce the effects of flood waters or high water level ...
and water resources development systems, and other public works in accordance with national development objectives,” provided that, the exercise of which “shall be decentralized to the fullest extent feasible.”


History

History of the DPWH stretches back as far as the history of Philippine government itself. During Spanish times, the Spanish constructed the first roads in the Philippines using significant
forced labor Forced labour, or unfree labour, is any work relation, especially in modern or early modern history, in which people are employed against their will with the threat of destitution, detention, violence including death, or other forms of ex ...
. These public works projects were not only used in the connection of towns and fortresses, but also in improving communications. As Spain expanded the scale of its public works projects, it resorted to a policy of attraction through public works projects. In 1867, in order to pursue this objective, the
King of Spain , coatofarms = File:Coat_of_Arms_of_Spanish_Monarch.svg , coatofarms_article = Coat of arms of the King of Spain , image = Felipe_VI_in_2020_(cropped).jpg , incumbent = Felipe VI , incumbentsince = 19 Ju ...
by decree designated the Spanish
Governor-General Governor-general (plural ''governors-general''), or governor general (plural ''governors general''), is the title of an office-holder. In the context of governors-general and former British colonies, governors-general are appointed as viceroy t ...
as the Chief of Public Works assisted by Junta Consultiva through a Royal Degree in 1867. It was in 1868 that the DPWH was born as the Bureau of Public Works and Highways, or Obras Publicas. Alongside the Bureau of Communications and Transportation (Communicaciones y Meteologia), now the Department of Transportation, the DPWH was organized under a civil engineer known as the “Director General”. It was responsible for all public works projects being done in the islands. During the Philippine Revolution, public works duties were assumed by a new department known as the Department of War and Public Works (DWPW). Although initially included in the portfolio of the Department of War (now the Department of National Defense), public works projects were so important to the war effort that public works were also prioritized through this department. During the American period, public works projects were initially put in the hands of the
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers , colors = , anniversaries = 16 June (Organization Day) , battles = , battles_label = Wars , website = , commander1 = ...
. However, this was transferred to a department known as the "Provincial Supervisions" on February 6, 1901. This eventually became the Department of Commerce and Police (DCP) in 1902, with two public works-related agencies, the Bureau of Engineering and Construction for public works projects and the Bureau of Architecture and Construction for the construction of public buildings. Both agencies were eventually merged into a bureau known as the Bureau of Public Works and was eventually subsumed into the DCP during reorganization in 1905. To keep pace with further developments in transportation and communications, the DCP was transformed into the Department of Commerce and Communications (DCC) in 1921. In 1931, the DCC was renamed by the Philippine Legislature the Department of Public Works and Communication (DPWC). Upon the inauguration of the
Commonwealth of the Philippines The Commonwealth of the Philippines ( es, Commonwealth de Filipinas or ; tl, Komonwelt ng Pilipinas) was the administrative body that governed the Philippines from 1935 to 1946, aside from a period of exile in the Second World War from 1942 ...
in 1935, the DPWC was reorganized to contain the following bureaus: the Bureau of Public Works, Ports, Aeronautics, Coast and Geodetic Survey, the Metropolitan Water District Division of Marine, Railway and Repair Shop, National Radio Broadcasting, the Irrigation Council and Board of Examiners for Civil, Mechanical, Chemical and Mining Engineers. During
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
, the DPWC's offices were destroyed in the Japanese occupation of the Philippines. It resumed operations in 1946, albeit with limited funds and manpower. To assist reconstruction efforts, the U.S. Bureau of Public Roads set up an office in the Philippines to coordinate with the Philippine Bureau of Public Works in implementing the Philippine highway network, which was in ruins. The DPWC was renamed in 1951 the Department of Public Works, Transportation and Communications, or DPWTC. In 1954, a body named the Bureau of Public Highways was established. This became a separate department on July 1, 1974. Two years later, with the adoption of the 1976 amendments to the 1973 Constitution, the department became the Ministries of Public Works, Transportation and Communications, and Public Highways, respectively. In 1979, the MPWTC was split into two ministries, the Ministry of Public Works (MPW) and the Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MOTC). After two years, the public works and highways ministries were merged, becoming the Ministry of Public Works and Highways in 1981. On January 30, 1987, with the approval of the 1987 Constitution, the Ministry was reconfigured into a department. In July 1991, the Sandiganbayan issued a warrant of arrest against former minister Jesus Hipolito and former deputy minister Aber Canlas, as well as eight other engineers of MPWH, charging them with graft for their involvement in "ghost"
dredging Dredging is the excavation of material from a water environment. Possible reasons for dredging include improving existing water features; reshaping land and water features to alter drainage, navigability, and commercial use; constructing d ...
projects meant for improving
Metro Manila Metropolitan Manila (often shortened as Metro Manila; fil, Kalakhang Maynila), officially the National Capital Region (NCR; fil, link=no, Pambansang Punong Rehiyon), is the capital region, seat of government and one of three List of metrop ...
's rivers in 1985 that cost up to ₱200 million.


Declared state policy on public works and highways

The State shall maintain an engineering and construction arm and continuously develop its technology, for the purposes of ensuring the safety of all infrastructure facilities and securing for all public works and highways the highest efficiency and the most appropriate quality in construction. The planning, design, construction and maintenance of infrastructure facilities, especially national highways, flood control and water resources development systems, and other public works in accordance with national development objectives, shall be the responsibility of such an engineering and construction arm. However, the exercise of this responsibility shall be decentralized to the fullest extent feasible.Section 1, Chapter 1, Title V, Book IV of the Revised Administrative Code of 1987


Mandate of the DPWH

The Department of Public Works and Highways shall be the State's engineering and construction arm and is tasked to carry out the policy enunciated above (Section 2, Ibid.).


Powers and functions of the DPWH

The department, in order to carry out its mandate, shall: (1) Provide technical services for the planning, design, construction, maintenance, or operation of infrastructure facilities; (2) Develop and implement effective codes, standards, and reasonable guidelines to ensure the safety of all public and private structures in the country and assure efficiency and proper quality in the construction of public works; (3) Ascertain that all public works plans and project implementation designs are consistent with current standards and guidelines; (4) Identify, plan, secure funding for, program, design, construct or undertake prequalification, bidding, and award of contracts of public works projects with the exception only of specialized projects undertaken by Government corporate entities with established technical capability and as directed by the President of the Philippines or as provided by law; (5) Provide the works supervision function for all public works constructions and ensure that actual construction is done in accordance with approved government plans and specifications; (6) Assist other agencies, including the local governments, in determining the most suitable entity to undertake the actual construction of public works projects; (7) Maintain or cause to be maintained all highways, flood control, and other public works throughout the country except those that are the responsibility of other agencies as directed by the President of the Philippines or as provided by law; (8) Provide an integrated planning for highways, flood control and water resource development systems, and other public works; (9) Classify road and highways into national, regional, provincial, city, municipal, and barangay roads and highways, based on objective criteria it shall adopt; provide or authorize the conversion of roads and highways from one category to another; and (10) Delegate, to any agency it determines to have the adequate technical capability, any of the foregoing powers and functions; and (11) Perform such other functions as may be provided by law (Section 3, Ibid.).


Organizational structure

The department is headed by the Secretary of Public Works and Highways (Philippines), with the following seven undersecretaries and five assistant secretaries *Undersecretary for Planning & PPP Services *Undersecretary for UPMO Operations and Technical Services *Undersecretary for Support Services *Undersecretary for the Office of the Secretary *Undersecretary for Regional Operations in Luzon *Undersecretary for Regional Operations in Visayas, NCR, and IV-B *Undersecretary for Regional Operations in Mindanao *Assistant Secretary for Technical Services *Assistant Secretary for Support Services *Assistant Secretary for Regional Operations in Luzon *Assistant Secretary for Regional Operations in Visayas, NCR, and IV-B *Assistant Secretary for Regional Operations in Mindanao


Bureaus

*Bureau of Construction *Bureau of Design *Bureau of Equipment *Bureau of Maintenance *Bureau of Quality & Safety *Bureau of Research & Standards


Services

*Finance Service *Human Resource and Administrative Service *Information Management Service *Internal Audit Service *Legal Service *Planning Service *Procurement Service *Public-Private Partnership Service *Stakeholder Relations Service


Attached agencies

*Local Water Utilities Administration (LWUA)


Statistics


Budget


List of the secretaries of the Department of Public Works and Highways


References


External links


Department of Public Works and Highways website
{{authority control Philippines, Public Works and Highways
Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...
Transportation in the Philippines Public Works and Highways