DA, civil society groups find coordinate discrepancies in 8 of 1,669 proposed 2027 FMR projects

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The Department of Agriculture (DA) has tightened its review of project documents, including those for farm-to-market roads (FMRs), to prevent errors in project information.

Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. ordered a comprehensive review of project descriptions, supporting documents, and validation procedures after senators flagged errors in the coordinates of proposed FMR projects for 2027 submitted by the agency.

“We are reviewing the data and working with civil society groups to make sure the technical descriptions are accurate and verifiable,” he said in a statement on Tuesday.

“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 added.

The DA said it immediately coordinated with the People's Budget Coalition, Bisto Proyekto.ph, and the Bureau of Agriculture and Fisheries Engineering to address discrepancies traced to typographical errors.

The DA and civil society groups identified coordinate discrepancies in eight of the 1,669 entries for proposed FMR projects.

"Upon close inspection, it showed one or two numbers in the coordinate were mistyped from the correct coordinates," the DA said.

Tiu Laurel also ordered improvements in geotagging, internal reviews, and third-party validation of project documents.

The DA maintains an online portal for transparency and monitoring of FMR projects nationwide at fmrwatch.bafe.gov.ph.

“Public funds must be backed by accurate project information. That is our accountability to Congress, our farmers and fisherfolk, and the Filipino people,” Tiu Laurel said.

Under the proposed P198.45-billion budget for the DA in 2027, P16 billion is earmarked for FMR projects. This is half the P33 billion allocated for the program in the 2026 budget.

Since President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. assumed office in 2022, a total of 537 FMR projects have been completed, the Department of Agrarian Reform earlier said.

These projects cover a combined distance of 435.807 kilometers and benefit 155,123 agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs). —VBL, GMA News