THE Department of Transportation (DOTr) will meet with airlines to ask for the removal of rebooking fees, according to DOTr Acting Secretary Giovanni Lopez.
If complete removal is not possible, Lopez said he will at least work on lowering the fees.
At the House Committee on Appropriations meeting on the DOTr’s 2026 budget, ML party-list’s Rep. Leila de Lima questioned the need to pay in full for rebooking given that “more often than not,” passengers have their reasons for rebooking.
In response to this, Lopez said, “Magkakaroon po kami ng pagpupulong sa airlines. Isa po ‘yan sa aming ipapakiusap. Kung hindi man namin matatanggal ‘yung rebooking fee na tuluyan, makakaasa po kayo na makikiusap po na bawasan man lang.”
Lopez said he hopes Congress would increase the 2026 budget of the DOTr, which was slashed by 62% in the National Expenditure Program (NEP) at P197 billion in comparison to the agency’s proposal of P531 billion.
The agency would have to resort to depending on unprogrammed appropriations again, “which will take time,” the DOTr undersecretary said.
Various projects in the railway sector were given zero funding in the 2026 NEP, including the MRT Line 4 Project and the Mindanao Railway project.
Meanwhile, House Committee on Appropriations Vice Chairperson Romeo Momo Sr. questioned the proposed increase, saying the DOTr’s obligation rate was only at 73% in 2023.
“I think we’re quite confident that we can hit our obligation rate. We can preserve our disbursement rate even if there’s additional funding. And just in case we’re not able to stand up with our commitment, we can be certain that at least the funds is with the DOTr,” Lopez said.
The DOTr also applied reforms after studying the obligation and disbursement rates of the agency in previous years.
This includes decentralizing the Bids And Awards Committee.
Lopez added, the defunding of some foreign-assisted projects in bicameral conference committee proceedings before has affected contractors with payment for some projects taking a long time, lasting even after completion of programs.
The agency had to rely on unprogrammed appropriations, which usually kicks in only at the second quarter of the year, according to Lopez.
“‘Yung mga first six months kung saan mayroon nang mga progress billing at may mga natapos na pong mga proyekto na kailangan bayaran, hindi po nababayaran. At nakakaapekto naman ito sa ating mga contractor. Kung ito po ay nagkapatong-patong na po, dito na po mangyayari ‘yung mga iniiwasan sana nating parang prolongation costs. Habang tumatagal po ang proyekto ibigsabihin po lumolobo ang ating bayarin. Lolobo at lolobo din ang ating utang,” Lopez said. (ABS-CBN News)
