Senator Erwin Tulfo on Sunday raised serious concerns over the proposed P33-billion allocation for farm-to-market roads (FMRs) in the 2026 national budget, citing the lack of clear assurances on safety measures and fears that issues previously linked to flood control projects could resurface under a different funding item.

Following the first day of bicameral conference committee (bicam) deliberations on the 2026 budget law, Tulfo pointed out that the proposed FMR budget represents a P17-billion increase from the P16 billion originally allocated under the National Expenditure Program (NEP).

“I also have reservations on this because it’s P33 billion. This is such a huge amount,” Tulfo said.

“While I know that our farmers need this, the problem is that the public might think that we may have removed the flood control projects, but we replaced it with farm-to-market roads,” he added.

Tulfo, who serves as vice chairperson of the Senate finance panel, warned that public perception could be affected by the sudden increase, particularly amid longstanding concerns surrounding infrastructure spending.

“The Filipino people who are watching us right now cannot help but think that there might be problems with this—that the issues in flood control will only transfer to farm-to-market roads,” he added.

Senator Pia Cayetano echoed concerns over the scale of the funding increase, noting that the FMR budget for 2026 could reach as high as P43 billion if P11 billion in unreleased funds from 2025 are included.

“That’s a lot. And we have to remember that this amount is [originally] roughly around P16 billion. It’s almost times three,” Cayetano said, adding that she was surprised a comprehensive master plan for the projects had yet to be fully developed.

In response, House Appropriations Committee Chairperson Mika Suansing said that an extensive master plan already exists, although she acknowledged that some remote and far-flung areas have yet to be covered.

Senator Loren Legarda, meanwhile, stressed that while farm-to-market roads are necessary to support agricultural communities, their implementation should be needs-based rather than politically driven.

“FMRs are needed but must not be distributed according to Congressional Districts, but must be distributed or implemented according to the need of the area, based on population, land area, and others, and not through politically divided districts,” Legarda said.

Tulfo then called for firm guarantees that safeguards and oversight mechanisms will be strictly enforced in the implementation of the projects.

“When we say that there are safety measures or guards in place, [it means] these must be implemented properly. It’s P33 billion—that’s not a joke. It’s a big amount of money. We do not have flood control projects in the 2026 budget, and the people might say: ‘These legislators might have found another way to get a budget’,” he said.