The Department of Public Works and Highways is hiring 1,391 engineers across the country to implement infrastructure projects, some of which have been unimplemented since 2013.
Some of these infrastructure projects are located in Negros Oriental.
The addition of 1,391 DPWH engineer positions matches the increase in the DPWH’s Capital Outlay (CO) budget, up from Php90.8 billion in 2011 to Php273.9 billion in 2015. This 202-percent increase reflects the intensified workload of DPWH personnel. Key activities include infrastructure planning and design, right-of-way acquisition, procurement, contract management/monitoring, and quality assurance activities.
“With more engineers on board, we can fast-track the implementation of DPWH programs and support the government’s public works strategy. The DPWH, after all, provides broad support to many agencies. The agency is responsible for major infrastructure projects across government, from the DepEd’s school facilities to the DA’s farm-to-market roads,” said Budget Secretary Florencio “Butch” Abad.
“Together with other budget reform measures, the hiring of new engineers will help the DPWH make the most of their budgets and implement projects quickly. The Administration has a lot of public construction projects already in the pipeline this year. That’s why we’re making big investments in government manpower so we can work faster and more efficiently,” Abad said.
Aside from the creation of the positions, the DBM also approved the creation of a Satellite Materials Testing Laboratory Section (SMTLS) in each Regional Office of the DPWH. This new section will be assigned the task of strengthening the quality of the national infrastructure via material testing.
A total of 21 STMLs will be created across all DPWH regional offices. Nine SMTLs will be built and equipped under the Japan International Cooperation Agency-Royal University of Phnom Penh (JICA-RUPP), while another 12 will be developed under the Asian Development Bank-Road Improvement and Institutional Development Project (ADB-RIIDP) loans.
