Gatchalian flags P10.3B in ‘overpriced’ farm-to-market roads

Senator Sherwin Gatchalian on Wednesday flagged allegedly overpriced farm-to-market road (FMR) projects amounting to P10.3 billion, covering 2023 and 2024 allocations.

During the Senate Committee on Finance’s deliberations on the proposed P176.70 billion budget of the Department of Agriculture (DA) and its attached agencies for fiscal year 2026, Gatchalian pressed Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. to confirm if FMR projects costing over P15,000 per meter could be considered “overpriced.”

Tiu Laurel agreed, saying such costs were indeed excessive.

“We reviewed several projects from 2024, looked into different areas, and identified the top ten that we classified as extremely overpriced FMRs,” Gatchalian said in Filipino.

The senator’s remarks came as lawmakers scrutinize public spending amid concerns over irregularities in infrastructure projects designed to benefit local farmers.