Dizon said the directive follows President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s orders to clean house and stop public funds from being wasted amid the discovery of billions of pesos in ghost or nonexistent projects.
But he added that foreign-assisted projects will continue as planned because they are closely monitored by international advisers and lenders, he said.
“We need to review this based on the President’s directive to clean house,” Dizon said during the turnover ceremony on Sept. 3 to Giovanni “Banoy” Z. Lopez, who is now the acting secretary of the Department of of Transportation.
The suspension will affect all locally funded projects at the national, regional, and district levels.
Dizon added that his new leadership team will spend the next two weeks developing stronger safeguards to ensure transparency and accountability in the bidding process.
Details of these safeguards are expected to be announced early next week.
Miguel R. Camus has been a reporter covering various domestic business topics since 2009.
