CLO opinion: DPWH projects not under LGU control
DAGUPAN City Legal Officer Aurora Valle has clarified that the local government has no control or official supervisory power over projects implemented in the city by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), which are funded under the national budget.
In a September 15, 2025 letter to the Sangguniang Panlungsod (SP), coursed through Vice Mayor and SP Presiding Officer Bryan Kua, Valle provided her legal opinion on the matter, citing the Local Government Code that provides that “infrastructure projects of national concern fall within the responsibility of the national government.”
The legal opinion was in connection to a proposed ordinance authored by lone opposition Councilor Librada Reyna that calls for full transparency, accountability, and regular monitoring of all flood mitigation projects in Dagupan City from 2016 to 2025, and thereafter.
The proposal also directs the SP committee on infrastructure to take necessary actions in coordination with the city mayor’s office, city engineering office and the city planning office.
Valle said that while the city may undertake local infrastructure projects within its mandate, those funded, planned, and executed by a national agency such as the DPWH “remain outside the direct control and supervision of the Local Government Unit (LGU).”
She also cited DPWH Executive Order No. 124 (s. 1987) that expressly reorganized the department and vests upon it with the planning, design, construction, and maintenance of infrastructure facilities, especially national highways, flood control, and water resource development systems, and other public works.
Nevertheless, in the spirit of coordination and cooperative governance, Sections 26-27 of the Local Government Code provides that it would be prudent for the DPWH to consult and coordinate with the city before the commencement of projects to ensure that these are harmonized with the Comprehensive Land Use Plan and responsive to the actual needs of constituents, Valle said.
Valle told the SP that Mayor Belen Fernandez has already been exercising such initiative by coordinating with DPWH on projects in the city. She also reacted to the banner headline of The Sunday Punch last week – “Valle rejects oversight of flood control projects” – saying only the Sanggunian can do this, not me. (Leonardo Micua)
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