Crooks and crocodiles in government have reverted to the old reliable farm-to-market roads (FMR) for kickbacks in the 2026 budget after flood control projects have been put on the corruption radar.
A progressive watchdog gave Nosy Tarsee a rundown on how FMR projects have channeled kickbacks through insertions.
In the name of helping farmers, billions of pesos are poured into road projects that farmers never asked for — or never even see completed.
FMR allocation, now under the Department of Agriculture, ballooned far beyond original proposals and now exceeds P33 billion under the signed budget.
Of the amount, P4.89 billion will go to Central Luzon, P4.3 billion to Eastern Visayas, P3.78 billion to Cagayan Valley, P3.57 billion to Soccsksargen, and P2.65 billion to Calabarzon.
Funds will allegedly be pilfered through overpriced, substandard, or non-existent infrastructure in the budget, which continues to neglect genuine agrarian reform, irrigation, and support for local agricultural production.
FMRs are intended to connect rural agricultural areas to markets and improve farmers’ access, but they are often inserted into the budget by legislators as part of a pork-barrel system in which funds are allocated to infrastructure in their districts or favored regions.
The process typically begins during budget deliberations in Congress, where lawmakers lobby to include specific FMR projects in the GAA, often under the guise of aiding underserved farming communities.
Once approved, these funds are channeled through agencies like the DA or the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), which oversee implementation.
Critics argue that this “allocables” system allows politicians to dictate project locations and contractors, creating opportunities for kickbacks.
Projects are budgeted at inflated costs, sometimes by as much as 70 percent, with the excess siphoned off as profits shared between contractors and politicians.
More than P10 billion in overpriced FMRs were identified in the 2023 and 2024 budgets, with costs suspiciously rounded to exact figures, such as P15 million per project.
Ghost projects, in which roads are funded but never built, and substandard construction that quickly deteriorates, further enable the diversion of funds.
The DA claims to have ordered a review of FMRs from 2021 to 2025, but the persistence of these allocations in the 2026 GAA suggests the vicious cycle continues.