Senator Erwin T. Tulfo has called for the swift passage of the Masterplan for Infrastructure and National Development (MIND) Act, arguing that the measure is needed to curb the waste of public funds on substandard projects, as deliberations continue on the proposed 2027 national budget.

Mr. Tulfo said the successive rains have exposed which of the country's existing infrastructure is substandard, pointing to damaged roads and bridges. He also noted that some projects remain unfinished because funding is not carried forward. The issue of uncompleted infrastructure carried across budget cycles has long been flagged in Philippine public works, where appropriations that lapse at year-end can leave multi-year projects stalled.

"We are wasting public funds on public infrastructure projects that the public does not benefit from. All of this is due solely to negligence in planning," he said in a statement on Sunday.

The senator stressed that infrastructure construction should be carried out with continuity and longevity, adding that plans should also be climate resilient. The Philippines sits in a typhoon belt and ranks among the countries most exposed to extreme weather events, a vulnerability that has repeatedly driven calls for stricter design and construction standards in public works.

The MIND Act is among the priority measures of the administration's Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council. The bill remains pending before the Senate Committee on Economic Affairs, while its counterpart measures in the House of Representatives are also pending with the House Committee on Public Works and Highways. — Kaela Patricia B. Gabriel