Hiked budget for farm-to-market roads hurdles bicam

The P33-billion budget proposed under the Department of Agriculture (DA) for the rehabilitation, repair and construction of farm-to-market roads (FMR) in 2026 hurdled the bicameral conference committee on Saturday.

But before securing the nod of the panel, senators and congressmen argued over the massive leap from the P16-billion budget for FMRs in the National Expenditure Program. 

It was the House contingent that first sought to adjust the proposed FMR budget to P32 billion. 

"While we understand that there are [FMR] projects that are under deeper evaluation, investigation or show low utilization largely due to implementation capacity constraints, but I believe these are isolated cases and should not be used to penalize an entire program that directly supports over 10 million Filipino farmers," said Davao de Oro 1st District Representative Maria Carmen Zamora. 

Senate Committee on Agriculture, Food and Agrarian Reform chairman Kiko Pangilinan backed the push to increase the budget for FMRs. 

According to Pangilinan, the technical coordinates of the FMRs were not yet available when the Senate committee approved and endorsed the proposed DA budget. 

“In that context, we felt it best to tread carefully, set it aside, approve whatever amounts had supporting coordinates,” he explained. 

But since the DA already complied with such requirements, Pangilinan said he is “open to adjusting” the budget for FMRs. 

Farm-to-market or farm-to-pocket?

Seemingly unconvinced, Senators Imee Marcos, Pia Cayetano, Loren Legarda, and Erwin Tulfo aired reservations in approving the move to double the FMR budget from the P16-billion allotment in the NEP. 

“The reality is we've shifted from one department to the next repeatedly with no significant difference. Isn't this the very definition of insanity? Repeating it over and over again and expecting different results,” said Marcos. 

The senator expressed worry that the budget slashed from the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) would only be moved under the DA’s FMRs, which may instead end up as “farm-to-pocket” roads.

“Hindi ba dapat i-pilot muna? Kasi maglilipat na naman tayo. Paulit-ulit lang ito. Palipat-lipat," she said.

(Shouldn’t we pilot it first? Because we’re transferring the project again. We keep transferring it.) 

Cayetano said she is “willing to give the DA the benefit of the doubt, but not with another P16 billion.” 

“Why would you double it at a time that you're transferring it to a new agency? It doesn't make sense. With all humility, with the agencies that I’ve handled, when it's a new project or if they're changing direction, we start small so we have less errors,” she added. 

Accountability, safeguards

Cayetano also raised concerns over adjusting the budget for FMRs “without knowing who will be held accountable and what are the pre-construction safeguards.”

Pangilinan said the DA, who will now take charge of FMR projects, will be held responsible for its implementation.

He also noted that Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu-Laurel was “initially hesitant” to carry the weight of FMR projects but the latter “agreed eventually after some thought.” 

After a lengthy suspension of deliberations, Pangilinan enumerated several safeguards which will be in place to allay the worries of his fellow senators.

This, he said, includes a dashboard where the technical coordinates of implemented FMRs will be uploaded, and involvement of local government units and private sector in the projects, among others. 

House appropriations committee chairperson Mikaela Suansing also expressed confidence that the DA “will be able to implement well” the FMRs next year, citing its 83% utilization rate during fiscal year 2025. 

In a statement Sunday, Senate Pro Tempore Panfilo Lacson said he will not sign the 2026 budget Bicam report unless the provisions allocating billions in the FMRs are corrected.

The remaining 17% of the FMRs left not implemented were due to a halt in the bidding process, she added. 

The DA had earlier launched an FMR Watch platform where the public can upload photos, report the progress of projects, and flag issues directly from construction sites.

In November, it flagged eight “missing” FMRs in Davao Occidental, amounting to some P100 million which were funded from 2021 to 2023 but were never built, according to an initial audit report. —KG/RF, GMA Integrated News