DA eyes to complete farm-to-market roads audit by Q1 2026

The Department of Agriculture (DA) is aiming to complete its ongoing audit of farm-to-market roads (FMRs) by the first quarter of 2025.

Interviewed on Dobol B TV on Saturday, DA spokesperson Assistant Secretary Arnel de Mesa said the FMR audit is still ongoing.

"Out of the 4,700 [FMRs], isang libo na 'yung napuntahan," de Mesa said.

The Agriculture official said that out of the first 1,000 FMRs inspected, eight were flagged to be "missing projects" located in Davao Occidental.

On Thursday, the DA flagged eight "missing" FMRs in Davao Occidental worth some P100 million funded from 2021 to 2023 but were never built, according to its initial audit.

De Mesa earlier said the eight "missing" projects were reported to have been completed, but there were no records of accomplishments as of September 2025. There were also ongoing construction activities during the audit, which he said could be attempts to catch up.

In his radio interview, De Mesa said the DA's Bureau of Agriculture and Fisheries Engineering, Internal Audit Service, as well as its inspectorate and enforcement bureaus, are all coordinated in conducting the FMR audit.

"Ang target ay is by first quarter of next year (The target is by first quarter of next year)," he said, referring to the timeline of finishing the FMR audit.

De Mesa said FMRs are all over the country, "but most likely, karamihan ay nasa Mindanao (most of them are in Mindanao)."

Data on the identified "missing" FMRs was forwarded to the Office of the President, and will also be submitted to the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI).

The DA official said the contractual obligations were under the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) since it was the implementing agency, even if the budget came from the Agriculture Department.

Beginning 2026, the DA will be taking over the implementation of FMRs from the DPWH.

The agency is expecting to save at least 20% in construction costs once it implements FMRs, in line with President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr.'s directive to bring down costs of construction.

The Marcos administration initially proposed a P16-billion budget for the development of 1,000 kilometers of FMRs in 2026.

The House of Representatives, however, doubled the amount to P32 billion, following Marcos' directive to realign flood-control funds to priority agricultural infrastructure.

Meanwhile, the DA's master plan identifies about 131,000 kms of potential FMRs nationwide, of which around 70,000 kms have been completed. — VDV, GMA Integrated News