DPWH: Gov't has P60B worth of unpaid right-of-way claims

The government has P60 billion worth of unpaid right-of-way claims, the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) told a congressional budget hearing on Thursday, with one official describing it as "alarming."

DPWH Secretary Manuel Bonoan and Undersecretary for Legal Service Anne Lapuz made the disclosure after House Assistant Minority Leader Marissa Magsino pointed out that budget items for payment of right-of-way claims were significantly reduced in 2023 and 2024.

Magsino said from the DPWH's proposed P37.58-billion allocation for payment of right-of-way claims in 2023, it was reduced to a P1.6 billion. In 2024, the DPWH proposed P35.12 billion, but the final allocation was only P2.5 billion.

"When we came in under this administration, I was informed that the pending obligations in right-of-way payments is almost...about P60 billion. However, for practical intent and purposes, we are actually prioritizing our allocations for those [cases] ready for payments, because these [outstanding ] obligations dates back several years back and there are documentation requirements that need to be secured," Bonoan said during the budget deliberations on the DPWH's proposed P898-billion budget for 2025 before the House Committee on Appropriations.

"There are instances where the owner [of the land that the government acquired] as stated in the [land] title is already dead, so there is extrajudicial process that needs to be done to identify and transfer it to the heirs. We all know that in the rural areas, it takes some time. Although we continue to be of assistance to the claimants of the right-of-way," Bonoan added.

Under the DPWH's proposed 2025 budget, the amount allocated for the payment for right-of-way claims stands at P36 billion.

Magsino then stressed that Congress should help the DPWH address the problem by granting the DPWH the budget it needs.

"We should prioritize the payments [of right-of-way claims] for completed [government] projects because the government already secured the property for so long and yet they are yet to pay the claims," Magsino said. 

This is an injustice to the property owners because these people also have families that need the payment in exchange for their property affected by a government project."

Magsino then quizzed the DPWH if the non-payment of right-of-way claims means the unpaid claimants can sue for constructive confiscation of private property.

In response, Bonoan said, "I totally agree with the premise that is being forwarded by the Honorable Congresswoman."

"I think this is actually the challenge that the department is facing at this point in time, and this is the reason why we are appealing to Congress again under the 2025 proposed budget that the proposed P36.9 billion for payment of right-of-way should be kept intact," he added.

DPWH Undersecretary Lapuz, for her part, echoed Bonoan’s appeal by saying that the situation of having P60 billion unpaid right-of-way claims is already "alarming," given that interest payments for right-of-way acquisition alone is already at 12%.

"We are trying to prioritize right-of-way claims with decisions of the Supreme Court already, Your Honors, because of the legal interest accruing on these obligations. As mentioned by the Honorable Secretary, as of 2022, we've identified at least P60 billion that are outstanding obligations of the Department, and this amount is very alarming," Lapuz said.

"And a portion of the P60 billion identified outstanding obligations are from court decisions, Your Honors. The DPWH cannot escape this obligation. And even if for cases yet to be decided [by the courts], the fact that we've taken private properties of our citizens for national government infrastructure projects, they may still be entitled to legal interest as provided under the Right-of-Way Act. The DPWH can only manage given the very limited budget allocation for right-of-way every year," Lapuz added. —KBK, GMA Integrated News