MANILA (October 10) — Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian on Thursday warned the Department of Agriculture (DA) to fix its farm-to-market road (FMR) system or risk losing its ₱16-billion allocation in the proposed 2026 national budget.
Speaking at Kapihan sa Senado, Gatchalian, chair of the Senate Committee on Finance, said he is hesitant to approve the FMR funding due to persistent overpricing and inefficiencies in project implementation by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).
“They are asking for ₱16 billion for 2026. If they or the DPWH cannot fix their processes, I’m hesitant to approve that funding because it will just go to waste,” Gatchalian said.
During Wednesday’s budget hearing, the senator revealed the government lost ₱10.3 billion and nearly 700 kilometers of farm-to-market roads between 2023 and 2024 due to overpricing.
His office found that the 10 most overpriced projects in 2024 cost as much as ₱348,432 per meter, far exceeding the ₱10,000 per meter estimate cited by Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr., the DA secretary.
Regions V (Bicol), VIII (Eastern Visayas), and III (Central Luzon) recorded the most overpriced projects, each exceeding ₱30,000 per meter, based on Gatchalian’s review.
“If there’s no assurance that the FMR projects will be properly implemented in 2026, we will just remove this funding and reallocate it elsewhere,” he said.
Gatchalian also floated transferring FMR implementation from DPWH to DA, provided the agriculture agency can prove it can execute the projects efficiently and without corruption.
The Senate finance panel is continuing its scrutiny of DA infrastructure spending to ensure transparency, accountability, and efficient delivery of agricultural support programs under the 2026 budget.
