Farm-to-market roads meant to link Philippine agricultural and fisheries production sites, coastal landing points, and post-harvest facilities to markets and major roads have instead materialized in mapping data thousands of miles offshore, cutting through open ocean waters rather than rural farmland.
That geographic anomaly emerged on Wednesday, 21 October, as the Department of Agriculture defended its proposed 2027 budget before the Senate finance committee. During the hearing, the civil society group People’s Budget Coalition flagged 7,054 projects worth P190 billion that were allegedly inserted by the House of Representatives, according to reporting by the Daily Tribune.
Budget watchdog People’s Budget Coalition on Wednesday urged a Senate panel to scrutinize 7,054 projects worth P190 billion allegedly inserted by the House of Representatives into the Department of Agriculture’s (DA) proposed 2027 budget.Read more at: https://t.co/5Ca1runT3E… pic.twitter.com/ThxJNjvqQr
Mapping Errors Place Inland Infrastructure at Sea
Citizen-led mapping of 18,000 projects contained in the House’s general appropriations bill revealed coordinates that defy geography. Kenneth Isaiah Abante, co-convenor of the coalition, told senators that a P23-million farm-to-market road project supposedly located in Nueva Ecija yielded coordinates pointing to the sea near Benham Rise, as Rappler reported. Another P30-million road project intended for Cebu appeared in the Celebes Sea near Indonesia, while a P55-million project designated for Quezon pointed to waters near Brunei. We are not sure if these are connected to the national highway network or connected to their resorts,
Abante said.
These disputed infrastructure components form part of a broader P198.45-billion proposed budget for the Department of Agriculture in 2027. The agency absorbed farm-to-market road projects following public scrutiny of the Department of Public Works and Highways over allegations of massive corruption and a flood control scandal.
Unvetted Insertions and Escalating Material Costs
Beyond mapping errors, the coalition questioned public transparency regarding P15 billion worth of farm-to-market and irrigation projects lacking publicly posted project attachments. Abante stated that the House inserted 355 farm-to-market road projects not originally included in the National Expenditure Program or the agricultural department’s initial proposal. The House also inserted 319 irrigation projects worth P9.4 billion without proper documentation.
Financial scrutiny extended to the unit costs of these proposed interventions. While standard farm-to-market roads typically cost P15 million per kilometer, some flagged projects showed unit costs ranging from P6 million to P19 million per meter. If we take the budget as is, there will likely be overpriced projects in the DA,
said Abante. Similar pricing concerns emerged around solar irrigation pump systems, which carried price tags between P50 million and P200 million. Abante noted that actual bidding documents from the National Irrigation Administration indicate individual solar panels cost between P30,000 and P40,000, while individual 600- to 700-watt panels cost around P7,000.
Agriculture Secretary Welcomes Civil Society Oversight
Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel welcomed civil society oversight, accepting an offer from the coalition to mobilize volunteers to verify the physical progress of existing infrastructure. We welcome initiatives that empower citizens to hold public spending accountable and ensure that funds go where they are intended and deliver real benefits to the people, from agricultural workers to ordinary residents whose lives are improved by these infrastructure projects,
Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel said.
However, lawmakers and watchdogs continue to push for a rigorous review of the House-approved P7.2-trillion national budget for 2027 to prevent financial discrepancies. Senate finance committee chair JV Ejercito and other senators have questioned the chamber’s budget adjustments, leaving open the question of how the budget will be reconciled before final passage.
More on Department of Agriculture
WATCH: The Department of Agriculture (DA) on Friday (Oct. 23, 2026) assures that there are no anomalies behind the flagged road coordinates of the proposed farm-to-market (FMR) projects, where some coordinates are mapped in open waters instead of agricultural lands. DA… pic.twitter.com/aVU13tNuQz
