# Administrative Code of 1987/Book IV/Title V/Chapter 1

Source: Supplement to the Official Gazette. Vol. 83, No. 38. Manila. National Printing Office. 1987. pp. 101–103.
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Chapter 1—General Provisions
Section 7. Declaration of Policy.—The State shall maintain an engineering and construction arm and continuously develop its technology, for the purposes of ensuring the safety of all infrastructure facilities and securing for all public works and highways the highest efficiency and the most appropriate quality in construction. The planning, design, construction and maintenance of infrastructure facilities, especially national highways, flood control and water resource development system, and other public works in accordance with national development objectives, shall be the responsibility of such an engineering and construction arm. However, the exercise of this responsibility shall be decentralized to the fullest extent feasible.
Sec. 2. Mandate.—The Department of Public Works and Highways shall be the State’s engineering and construction arm and is tasked to carry out the policy enunciated above.
Sec. 3. Powers and Functions.—The Department, in order to carry out its mandate, shall:
    (1) Provide technical services for the planning, design, construction, maintenance, or operation of infrastructure facilities;
    (2) Develop and implement effective codes, standards, and reasonable guidelines to ensure the safety of all public and private structure in the country and assure efficiency and proper quality in the construction of public works;
    (3) Ascertain that all public works plans and project implementation designs are consistent with current standards and guidelines;
    (4) Identify, plan, secure funding for, program, design, construct or undertake prequalification, bidding, and award of contracts of public works projects with the exception only of specialized projects undertaken by Government corporate entities with established technical capability and as directed by the President of the Philippines or as provided by law;
    (5) Provide the works supervision function for all public works construction and ensure that actual construction is done in accordance with approved government plans and specifications;
    (6) Assist other agencies, including the local governments, in determining the most suitable entity to undertake the actual construction of public works projects;
    (7) Maintain or cause to be maintained all highways, flood control, and other public works throughout the country except those that are the responsibility of other agencies as directed by the President of the Philippines or as provided by law;
    (8) Provide an integrated planning for highways, flood control and water resource development systems, and other public works;
    (9) Classify roads and highways into national, regional, provincial, city, municipal, and barangay roads and highways, based on objective criteria it shall adopt; provide or authorize the conversion of roads and highways from one category to another; and
    (10) Delegate, to any agency it determines to have the adequate technical capability, any of the foregoing powers and functions; and
    (11) Perform such other functions as may be provided by law.
Sec. 4. Organizational Structure.—The Department shall be composed of:
    (1) The Department Proper consisting of the Office of the Secretary, the Offices of the Undersecretaries and Assistant Secretaries, the Internal Audit Service, Monitoring and Information Service, Planning Service, Comptrollership and Financial Management Service, Legal Service, and the Administrative and Manpower Management Service;
    (2) The Bureau of Research and Standards, Bureau of Design, Bureau of Construction, Bureau of Maintenance, and Bureau of Equipment; and
    (3) The Field Offices, consisting of fourteen (14) Regional Offices composed of Region I (Ilocos), Region II (Cagayan Valley), Region III (Central Luzon), National Capital Region, Region IV-A (Southern Tagalog Mainland Provinces), Region IV-B (Southern Tagalog Island Provinces), Region V (Bicol), Region VI (Western Visayas), Region VII (Central Visayas), Region VIII (Eastern Visayas), Region IX (Western Mindanao), Region X (Northeastern Mindanao), Region XI (Southern Mindanao), and Region XII (Central Mindanao), and their respective District Offices.
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