On November 25, 2025, Congressman Nelson Legacion of the 3rd District of Camarines Sur delivered a notable Privilege Speech focused on the urgent need for the rehabilitation and modernization of the Andaya Highway and the Maharlika Highway. This speech marked his transition from the local governance of Naga City (where he served as Mayor) to national-level advocacy for the Bicol region. He used the floor to champion the “Bicol Rehabilitation” cause, addressing a long-standing grievance of his constituents and the Bicol region at large.
As a newly elected representative (having assumed office in June 2025), Legacion highlighted the “bumpy and dangerous” state of the Andaya Highway (a critical 92-kilometer stretch) and parts of the Maharlika Highway. He described these roads as being in a state of neglect for over 30 years. He argued that the poor infrastructure serves as a bottleneck for the Bicol region’s economy. Specifically, he noted that it delays the transport of perishable agricultural products to Metro Manila and discourages tourists due to the grueling travel conditions.
The Congressman pointed out that travel from Manila to Bicol currently takes between 15 to 16 hours due to the road conditions—a journey that should be significantly shorter. He also cited the high frequency of vehicular accidents caused by the uneven pavement and lack of proper maintenance. He called on the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and the national government to prioritize these highways in the 2026 national budget, stressing that this is not just a local issue but one of national importance for connectivity.
The speech gained significant traction in the House of Representatives. Over 40 lawmakers reportedly signed on or expressed support for Legacion’s plea following the speech.
A “Backbreaking” Reality Check
Secretary Vince Dizon, who has been on a “full organizational sweep” of the DPWH since taking the helm in late 2025, led a high-stakes inspection of the Andaya Highway segment of the Maharlika Highway on January 16, 2026. Stretching from Lopez, Quezon to the heart of Camarines Sur, the inspection was not just a photo op—it was a visceral encounter with decades of infrastructure neglect and a P27-billion transparency challenge.
Experiencing first hand the grim reality of provincial travel to Bicol, Dizon did not mince words during the 92-kilometer trek. As seen in a 24 Oras Weekend report by GMA Network, the Secretary and his colleagues were seen literally shaken while standing on the Mauca Bridge in Lupi, Camarines Sur, as a large truck transporting steel rebar drove over it, causing the bridge to jolt violently as Dizon held on to the guardrail. He immediately ordered the assessment and repair of the bridge, as the situation could be dangerous for the motorists and residents using it.
Confrontation and frustration
Dizon spoke with frustrated residents and motorists from Barangay Cabutagan and Tapi in Lupi, Camarines Sur, during his inspection. A housewife told him that, because of the bad road conditions, it takes her three hours to go to Naga City for her husband’s medical checkup, instead of one hour to travel 50km. A video report by Taga Bicol Ako showed Dizon speaking with Cabutagan Barangay Captain Gaspar S. Gaspar, who complained that some students have been forced to stay in boarding houses to avoid being late for class — what was once a 20-minute commute was now 1 to 2 hours.
Dizon’s inspection took him through key sections of Maharlika Highway from Lopez to Tagkawayan in Quezon on to Andaya Highway through Del Gallego and Lupi in Camarines Sur. He said, “masakit sa likod,” after the inspection ride with Manila media through the “bump-a-thon highway.” Following the inspections, he announced the suspension of ongoing repair works while a more comprehensive rehabilitation plan is finalized. “The President has prioritized the full rehabilitation of the Maharlika and Andaya highways. With proper planning, funding and the support of Japanese consultants, we are confident the work can be completed within the next year and a half to two years,” Dizon said.
Transparency and Reform
While the physical inspection was centered on potholes and swaying bridges, the underlying agenda of the road trip were transparency and reform. Dizon held a meaningful dialogue with a formidable front of civil society advocates and volunteers from Bicol, including representatives from: People’s Budget Coalition, Bisto Proyekto, Bikol Laban sa Korapsyon, and the Naga City People’s Council.
The centerpiece of their discussion was the staggering P27 billion cost for the Bicol Region segment of the Maharlika Highway. This figure was brought to the forefront by transparency and accountability advocate Kenneth Ibasco Abante of BetterGov.ph, which has developed a searchable database that mirrors the DPWH’s own server.
This “shadow” database allows the public to track every centavo, revealing a history of piecemeal “patchwork” repairs that Abante and local groups argue have been a sieve for public funds. By mirroring the server, the Bisto Proyekto initiative ensures that project data cannot be easily “misplaced” or altered, providing a digital receipt for the P27 billion allocated for the region.
No Piecemeal Repairs
Following the inspection, Dizon took the drastic step of suspending all current repairs in the Quezon and Camarines Sur segments included in the 2026 budget. His logic was simple: no more short term “band aid” solutions.
Dizon vowed to “blacklist for life” contractors found responsible for substandard works. DPWH shall shift from piecemeal “pacha-pacha” repairs to a comprehensive, two-year rehab plan assisted by Japanese consultants. During the meeting with the transparency advocates led by Kenneth Ibasco Abante, he committed to work with groups like the Naga City People’s Council to institutionalize “bottom-up” budgeting.
The Road Ahead
The Secretary’s visit has ignited a spark of cautious optimism in Bicolandia. For residents who have lived with the “crater-ridden” Andaya Highway for 30 years, the promise of a long-term solution—backed by the digital scrutiny of the People’s Budget Coalition—is a welcome change. Dizon has set a deadline: the most critical repairs must be visible before the Holy Week traffic surge, or more heads will roll at the district level.
Representatives of the People’s Budget Coalition thanked the DPWH for being open and collaborative — proactively allowing disclosure of datasets. They acknowledge that this level of transparency that empowers citizens towards deeper participation and accountability is a great first step to rebuilding trust in the agency. On his FB page, Kenneth Ibasco Abante wrote, “We need this type of openness to data sharing and citizen monitoring in every agency of government. We are working with DPWH to get to the stage where all important public documents are by default proactively disclosed; meaning we don’t need to write letter requests.”
Upon the request of Naga City Councilors Frank Mendoza and Oying Rosales, the People’s Budget Coalition has drawn up a list of completed Andaya Highway projects in Bicol from 2019 to 2026. Based on BetterGovPH’s website that mirrors the DPWH transparency server, Andaya Highway had 76 projects in Bicol worth P3.8 billion from 2019 to 2026: 51 completed projects, 19 ongoing, 5 for procurement, 1 not yet started from 2019 to 2026. There were 27 unique contractors.
Highlights of the dataset
From 2016 to 2025, the DPWH budgeted P185 billion for 3,761 contracts containing “Maharlika Highway Daang Maharlika” spanning the whole country. From 2016 to 2025, the DPWH budgeted P5 billion for 92 contracts containing “Andaya Highway” in the Bicol region. The completeness and consistency of the dataset is still subject to verification, but the initial figures provide a good approximation of the relative size of these contracts over the past decade.
The highest budgeted regions for Maharlika Highway over the past decade were:
- Region VIII (Samar and Leyte) – P43 billion
- Region XIII (Agusan and Surigao) – P35 billion
- Region V (Bicol) – P27 billion
- Region XI (Davao) – P25 billion
- Region II (Cagayan, Isabela, Nueva Vizcaya) – P18 billion
- Region IV-A (Calabarzon) – P15 billion
- Region III (Bulacan, Nueva Ecija) – P13 billion
Searchable DWPH Resources
Transformation starts with transparency. Concerned Bicolanos can stay vigilant and keep the pressure on by using the transparency tools and resources provided by these intrepid civic organizations. See below:
The link shown provides access to the Maharlika and Andaya Highway Contracts (DPWH, 2016-2025) spreadsheet showing the individual contracts (description, category, contractor, region, province, amount): https://bit.ly/MaharlikaAndaya
With technology developed by Jason Torres of BetterGov.ph, the next link provides access to the Transparency Dashboard by Better.gov.ph which contains the DPWH Projects. The user can search and filter infrastructure projects data, such as top contractors by region or province, from the DPWH’s transparency portal: https://transparency.bettergov.ph/dpwh
Soon the People’s Budget Coalition will scale up efforts in Bisto Proyekto to encourage citizens to exercise their right to inspect infrastructure projects. The coalition will incorporate a risk analysis of the projects to guide in the selection of priority sites to monitor using scientific criteria : https://bisto.ph
The civil society organizations and volunteers hope to continue engaging with the DPWH to address infrastructure concerns, improve public works delivery, and ensure that infrastructure projects remain responsive to the real needs of communities.
The header features a segment of Andaya Highway in Ragay, Camarines Sur (image captured from a video by Katambay Bicol, Dec. 21, 2025). This article was written by Jojo De Jesus for Dateline Ibalon based on these references: Inquirer.net, GMA Network, ABS-CBN News, PNA.gov, PIA.gov, Manila Standard, FB page of Nelson Legacion, FB page of Kenneth Ibasco Abante, FB page of Naga City Peoples Council, and FB page of DPWH Bicol.