THE Department of Agriculture (DA) has ordered a review of its farm-to-market road (FMR) project documents after civil society groups flagged errors in some of their coordinates.
Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. on Tuesday directed officials to check project descriptions and strengthen validation procedures, following concerns raised by the People’s Budget Coalition (PBC), BetterGov.ph and Bisto Proyekto at a Senate hearing on the DA’s proposed 2027 budget.
An initial review identified eight entries out of 1,669, or less than 1 percent, with incorrect coordinates. The DA attributed the discrepancies to one or two mistyped digits in each affected entry.
Immediately after the hearing, Agriculture Undersecretary for Infrastructure Arrey Perez and Bureau of Agricultural and Fisheries Engineering Director Cristy Pilido met with PBC’s Kenneth Abante and Bisto Proyekto’s Dondon Parafina to review the flagged entries.
The DA also enlisted the groups to independently check the coordinates.
“If there are errors in the technical descriptions, whether typographical or otherwise, we will take responsibility and correct them. Public funds must go to the projects they are intended for,” Tiu Laurel said.
He noted that the review would also address gaps in the validation process to prevent similar errors.
The DA will strengthen geotagging and citizen monitoring through FMR Watch, an online transparency portal that allows the public to track road projects, view updates, and upload photos and feedback on their implementation.
The portal was launched after responsibility for FMR implementation was transferred back to the DA from the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) this year. Civil society groups cited it at the hearing as a step toward greater transparency.
The DA likewise mentioned its investigation into alleged ghost FMR projects implemented under the DPWH in previous years.
It said the probe led to preventive suspensions ordered by the Office of the Ombudsman in connection with P94 million worth of projects in Davao Occidental that had been declared completed and fully paid, despite remaining unfinished.
