Senate approves three bills creating district engineering offices

The Senate on Wednesday, March 13, 2024, approved on third and final reading three local bills creating district engineering offices, which will make "public service, through public works, more accessible to the people."

Sen. Ramon Bong Revilla Jr., chairperson of the Committee on Public Works, steered the passage of the measures.

"We are bringing the service closer to our countrymen so that they can benefit from it more easily, Revilla said in his omnibus sponsorship speech.

"We are all in agreement that public infrastructure and road works, which are the major outputs of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), are the backbone of our economy. Localizing these public works through the creation of district engineering offices is a helpful contribution to our national aim of economic development," he added.

The Senate unanimously approved on third and final reading House Bill No. (HBN) 1043 creating a district engineering office in the First Legislative District of Negros Occidental; HBN 7539 creating a district engineering office in the Third Legislative District of Bataan; and, HBN 7645 creating a district engineering office in the Fourth Legislative District of Bukidnon.

"In creating these district engineering offices, we are likewise empowering our LGUs, so that they will be able to address exigencies of infrastructure in their respective localities. We support them as they take each step towards serving the needs of their constituents," Revilla said.

"This will make services accessible to the localities. This will be their bridge to enjoy their aspirations and dreams that can only be realized through significant infrastructure projects," he added.