By Adrian H. Halili and Kenneth Christiane L. Basilio, Reporters
A PHILIPPINE senator on Wednesday said the government might have lost more than P10 billion to overpriced farm-to-market road projects from 2023 to 2024, calling it a clear sign of corruption.
“Not only is it overpriced; it’s extremely, extremely overpriced,” Senator Sherwin T. Gatchalian told a Senate hearing on the Department of Agriculture’s (DA) 2026 budget. “For me, this is an obvious sign of corruption.”
The senator said 1,653 farm-to-market road projects approved in the past two years were overpriced, resulting in estimated losses of P10.34 billion — equivalent to about 689 kilometers of farm roads.
The Bicol Region accounted for the highest number of overpriced projects, with 80 contracts worth P1.74 billion, followed by Eastern Visayas with P791 million and Central Luzon with P476.58 million, Mr. Gatchalian said.
He added that the amount lost could have been used to build a two-lane road stretching “from Manila to Aparri.”
He cited an estimated benchmark of P15,000 per meter for farm-to-market road construction, which he said was already high given the terrain. “The benchmark is only P15,000 per meter, which is already high considering the soil is soft,” he said.
Agriculture Secretary Francisco P. Tiu Laurel, Jr. said the DA would coordinate with the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), which oversees the construction of farm-to-market roads.
He added that the cost of building a one-kilometer farm-to-market road should be about P15 million.
“This is a bit of a problem,” Mr. Tiu Laurel said at the hearing. “Based on the information I got just now, the Department of Agriculture did not concur in those projects.”
On the sidelines, he told reporters that the DA would conduct an internal probe into the overpriced contracts. “I’m asking for a copy, then we will do our internal investigation. I’m curious also about what this is and who these are. Of course, we will coordinate with the DPWH,” he said.
The DA has been allotted P16 billion for its 2026 farm-to-market road program, but the agency still faces a 64,000-kilometer backlog and can only fund the construction of about 1,100 kilometers of roads next year.
Meanwhile, the House of Representatives subcommittee on Budget Amendments Review started revising the proposed P6.793-trillion spending plan for next year, with the amendments expected to be incorporated ahead of the budget bill’s second-reading approval later this week.
The body has raised funding for select programs under the Education, Health and Agriculture departments, as lawmakers aim to prioritize human capital development in the 2026 national budget.
“This is the second official meeting of the Budget Amendment Review Subcommittee, and this is where the remaining amendments to be made before the second reading on Friday will be discussed,” Bataan Rep. Albert Raymond S. Garcia told reporters in mixed English and Filipino before the panel convened.
Changes to the budget bill were previously handled by a closed-door “small committee” of select lawmakers.
This year’s budget process underwent reforms after Nueva Ecija Rep. Mikaela Angela B. Suansing, who heads the House appropriations panel, pushed greater transparency following last year’s controversy involving alleged insertions in the spending plan.
BUDGET CHANGESThe subcommittee has raised the Education department’s allocation for classrooms by 56% or P13 billion to P35 billion. This would support the construction of 25,000 public school classrooms nationwide, Ms. Suansing told the panel.
“We have found the fiscal space to add more towards the… construction, completion and rehabilitation of classrooms,” she said. “We’ll be able to address 25,000 of the 40,000 target [classrooms] come 2026.”
Lawmakers also added P414 million towards DepEd’s computerization program and P50 million for textbook procurement.
Meanwhile, it cut the Commission on Higher Education’s Tertiary Education Program to P2.97 billion from the P6.61 billion approved by the subpanel last month, while hiking the Tulong Dunong Program’s funding to P2.72 billion from P2.69 billion.
“This is actually not a reduction in the general sense,” Ms. Suansing said. “We simply adjusted it based on the actual funding requirements as requested and estimated by the Social Welfare department itself.”
Lawmakers also added P3.2 billion for the Health department’s construction of clinics and public health centers, while increasing the budget of the Philippine Children’s Medical Center by P150 million to support its cancer care and support programs.
The subcommittee also increased the Agriculture department’s farm-to-market road initiative by 86% to P16.78 billion. Congressmen also increased funding for farmers’ financial aid to P10 billion from P7 billion.
The subpanel also increased funding for the repair of the country’s irrigation system to P8.5 billion from P1.5 billion.
Meanwhile, it reduced the Labor department’s flagship aid program for displaced workers to P10 billion from P14.82 billion.
Funding for the Metro Rail Transit Line 3’s rehabilitation was also slashed by 50% to P500 million.
Also on Wednesday, Mr. Garcia said the Senate has granted the House’s request to extend Congress’ legislative calendar until Oct. 13, as the chamber begins amendments to the proposed spending bill.
Congressmen are set to finalize the tweaks to the spending bill and approve it on second reading on Friday, he said, meeting the required three-day interval between congressional readings.