DPWH role in road management to grow after Road Board absorption

THE Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) is set to take over the functions of the defunct Road Board in six months, giving it a bigger role in road management.

According to the implementing rules and regulations (IRR) of Republic Act No. 11239, the law that abolished the Road Board which President Rodrigo R. Duterte signed in March, the turnover of functions and funds of the Road Board to the DPWH must be made within a six-month period from the law’s effectivity.

The IRR was published in a newspaper bulletin on Tuesday and will take effect after 15 days.

“Any and all allocations obligated before the abolition of the Road Board shall be utilized by the said agency to settle all its obligation... The DPWH will ask the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) for funding to cover the expenses incurred during this period of transition,” according to the IRR.

The Road Board — originally consisting of the secretaries of the Public Works, Budget, Finance and Transportation departments, together with three representatives from the private sector — was first organized in the early 2000s through RA 8794, the law that imposed the collection of a motor vehicle user’s charge (MVUC).

The MVUC was meant to fund road maintenance, drainage, signalling devices, safety systems and vehicle-related pollution control measures. The money is held in four trust funds overseen by the National Treasury: the Special Road Support Fund, Special Local Road Fund, Special Road Safety Fund and Special Vehicle Pollution Control Fund.

With the abolition of the Road Board, the appropriations to be collected from RA 8794 are to be transferred to the DPWH, and monitored by a Congressional Oversight Committee composed of five members each from the House of Representatives and the Senate.

“The Secretary of DPWH, through a Department Order, shall provide the necessary guidelines for vetting and evaluation process of projects,” it said.

Projects that the Road Board previously approved but were not funded by the DBM will now be subject to an evaluation by the DPWH. The DPWH is also required to propose to the DBM changes in organization and staffing after it absorbs the Road Board’s responsibilities. —