Manila, Jan. 13 -- Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian on Tuesday said corruption should not hinder government infrastructure spending or this could stall economic growth and development.

"Corruption should be addressed through accountability and prosecution, not by cutting infrastructure programs that are essential to economic growth," the chair of the Senate Committee on Finance said in a statement Tuesday.

"Corruption cannot be the reason to remove infrastructure programs, or else our people will suffer. The solution for corruption is to jail people, file cases, and make them accountable," he added.

The Department of Public Works and Highways' budget allocation for this year has been reduced to PHP521 billion.

At just 4.5 percent of the GDP, s...