Lawmakers from the Makabayan bloc urged the House of Representatives to investigate the ‘systematic corruption and overpricing’ of farm-to-market roads (FMRs), a joint initiative of the Department of Agriculture (DA) and the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).
The bloc cited the DA’s National Farm-to-Market Roads Network Plan (NFMRNP) for 2023-2028, which proposed a budget of P15.91 million per kilometer of FMRs-P6.4 million higher than the average cost of P9.486 million per kilometer.
The plan also included an additional P1 million per kilometer for ‘better connectivity and street design,’ the resolution stated.
‘Now, therefore, be it resolved, as it is hereby 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 FMR projects of the DA and the DPWH,’ the resolution filed on October 29 read.
The FMR Network Plan was published on June 20, 2023, by the DA, DPWH, Department of Interior and Local Government, Department of Trade and Industry, and Department of Tourism.
At the time of publication, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. was serving as agriculture secretary. Following investigations into ‘ghost’ and substandard flood-control projects also handled by the DPWH, Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel ordered an audit of FMRs on September 18.
Over a week later, nine suspected ‘ghost’ FMRs worth P125 million were found in two Mindanao provinces, the DA said. Seven of the projects were in Davao Occidental, and two were in Lanao del Sur.
Of the nine, five were marked ‘completed’ during the Duterte administration-three in 2021 and two in 2022-while the remaining four were tagged ‘complete’ under the Marcos administration in 2023.
In early October, during the Senate Committee on Finance hearing on the proposed DA budget, Senator Sherwin Gatchalian reported that P10 billion worth of FMRs funded under the 2023 and 2024 national budgets were ‘extremely overpriced.’
Under the 2024 General Appropriations Act (GAA), P100 million was allocated for road concreting in Barangay San Roque in Tacloban City, covering just 0.287 kilometers. This amounts to P348,432.06 per meter-23 times higher than the standard DPWH rate of P15,000 per meter. Other ‘overpriced’ FMRs were handled by the firm of the brother of resigned Ako Bicol party-list representative Zaldy Co.
One such project involved concreting FMRs from Barangay Kidaco to Barangay San Roque in Daraga, Albay, with a P46 million budget under the GAA despite a length of only 0.37 kilometers. This translates to P124,324.32 per meter-8.3 times higher than the standard DPWH rate.
Gatchalian also identified the Bicol Region as having the largest number of projects with ‘cost overshoot,’ with 80 projects worth P1.7 billion, of which P1.18 billion (68 percent) were overpriced.
Eastern Visayas ranked second, with 33 projects allocated P791 million, overpriced by 70 percent or P555 million.
Former House Speaker Martin Romualdez, a presidential cousin, represents the first district of Leyte.
Gatchalian also noted that three of the 15 top contractors awarded P100 billion in flood-control projects secured the most FMR projects.
In 2024, GCI Construction and Development Corp. received P288.5 million in FMR contracts, followed by EGB Construction Corporation with P224.1 million, and Hi-Tone Construction, co-founded by the Co family, with P221.8 million. The government aims to complete 131,000 kilometers of roads linking agricultural areas to markets by the end of 2025. As of July, about 70,000 kilometers have been finished, while 61,000 kilometers are still pending validation, the DA said