House inquiry into alleged overpriced farm-to-market roads sought

A congressional inquiry into alleged overpriced farm-to-market roads has been sought in the House of Representatives.

House Deputy Minority Leader Antonio Tinio of ACT Teachers party-list as well as House Assistant Minority Leaders Sarah Elago of Gabriela and Renee Co of Kabataan party-list made the call under the proposed House Resolution 421.

The lawmakers said no less than the 1987 Constitution mandates the state to “maintain honesty and integrity in the public service and take positive and effective measures against graft and corruption.”

They cited Annex 5.5 of the Department of Agriculture's (DA) National Farm-to-Market Roads Network Plan (NFMRNP) 2023-2028 which estimated the national average cost of typical farm-to-market road at P9.486 million per kilometer.

The same document, however, also shows that the DA’s proposed base budget cost for a basic farm to market road is P15.91 million per kilometer which includes the cost of drainage, structural integrity, climate proofing, and an additional P1 million for "better connectivity and street design.”

“The difference between the estimated national average cost and the DA-proposed base budget cost of FMRs is P6.4 million per kilometer. It is imperative for Congress to expose and hold accountable all those involved as it is unconscionable that billions of people's money are lost to corruption instead of being used for the benefit of the Filipino people," they said.

The opposition lawmakers also noted that NFMRNP was formulated and finalized by the Departments of Agriculture, Public Works and Highways, the Interior and Local Government, Trade and Industry, and Tourism, and was published on June 20, 2023 while President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. was still serving as the Agriculture secretary.

Thereafter, a Joint Administrative Order No. 2 on November 10. 2023 was issued for the adoption and implementation of the NFMRNP 2023-2028, an administrative order signed by the secretaries of the said departments, including DA Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel, Jr. a week after his appointment.

“The Marcos administration targeted 64,155.20 kilometers of FMRs to be concreted and 67,255.46 kilometers of existing FMRs to be maintained from 2023 to 2028, [but] recent investigations reveal alarming instances of overpricing and potential fraud regarding FMR projects,” the lawmakers said.

“The Office of Senator Gatchalian revealed several egregious examples of overpriced and potentially fraudulent farm-to-market road projects, such as the Concreting of Barangay San Roque FMR Phase 2 in Tacloban City, Leyte, with an appropriation of P100 million for 0.287 km (P348,432 per meter) and other extremely overpriced farm-to-market projects in Camarines Sur, Bulacan, Eastern Samar, and Daraga, Albay that were appropriated under the General Appropriations Act 2024,” the lawmakers added.

Further, the lawmakers said the DA chief himself said that the cost of building farm-to-market roads is only at P10 million per kilometer, and that 12.7% to 15% of local rice production (approximately 450,000 metric tons) and 30% of vegetable production are lost annually due to poor logistics and inadequate farm infrastructure.

"There is a need to thoroughly scrutinize the National FMR Network Plan 2023-2028 formulated and finalized during the stint of Pres. Marcos Jr. as the Agriculture Secretary, and more importantly, to conduct a thorough investigation into all farm-to-market roads for possible overpricing and corruption,” they said.

“Now therefore, as it is resolved, that the House of Representatives, through the Committee on Public Accounts and Committee on Agriculture and Food, immediately conduct a comprehensive investigation, in aid of legislation, into the systemic corruption and overpricing of farm-to-market road projects of the Department of Agriculture and Department of Public Works and Highways,” they added. —KG, GMA Integrated News