Considering the systematic plunder of public funds in flood control projects, it’s not surprising that corruption is also being unearthed in the construction of farm-to-market roads.
So far the amounts of the non-existent roads unearthed by the Department of Agriculture total only P75 million – a drop in the bucket compared to the billions and even trillions of pesos believed to have been lost to ‘ghost’ and substandard flood control projects undertaken in recent years by the Department of Public Works and Highways.
Department of Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel said the P75 million covers only two projects done in 2021 and 2023 – one in the Davao Region and another in Zamboanga City. The DA has vowed a deeper probe, which will likely uncover more questionable ‘farm-to-pocket’ roads.
While at it, the DA can expand its probe to cover other farm-related projects, including cartel-like operations to control the prices of certain commodities and farm support services such as drying and milling.
In its audit and pursuit of corrupt deals, the DA must heed lessons from the past and ensure that the guilty will face punishment.
Corruption in the farm sector is not new. In March 2004, Panfilo Lacson, already a senator, had exposed the diversion of P728 million in fertilizer funds, which he said went to the presidential election campaign of Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. The P728 million was distributed to congressional districts, several of which did not even have farmlands, Lacson said.
The accused mastermind of the scam, Jocelyn ‘Joc-joc’ Bolante, resigned as agriculture undersecretary and fled to the US in October 2005 before he could face a Senate probe. He was later deported back to the country, and cleared Arroyo. Former agriculture secretary Luis Lorenzo also fled the country.
They were all later acquitted, however, including one of the players, businesswoman Janet Lim Napoles, who would later be indicted in the bigger scam involving the congressional pork barrel.
Several lesser players, however, have been convicted in the fertilizer scam, with other cases still pending. So the ongoing audit of the DA could bear fruit in rendering justice.
As in the flood control scandal, however, the DA audit could lead probers to influential and wealthy people who benefited from non-existent or substandard farm-to-market roads. Such people can be expected to put up a strong legal defense to escape punishment. The DA must ensure that it is up to the challenge.