The Department of Agriculture (DA) is tightening checks on project details and rolling out system-wide improvements after discrepancies were found in coordinates submitted for farm-to-market road (FMR) projects. Agriculture Secretary Francisco P. Tiu Laurel Jr. has ordered a full, continuing review of project descriptions, supporting papers and validation procedures to ensure all information the agency submits is accurate, complete and verifiable.
Civil society groups including the People’s Budget Coalition, BetterGov.ph and BistoProyekto flagged the inconsistencies during Senate budget hearings for the agency’s 2027 funding request. A joint review later confirmed that out of 1,669 FMR entries, only eight — less than one percent — showed coordinate errors, mostly simple encoding or typographical mistakes that placed projects in the wrong locations. The DA has accepted responsibility for these inaccuracies.
Following the hearing, Tiu-Laurel directed Undersecretary for Infrastructure and Agro-Marine Logistics Arrey A. Perez to meet with representatives from the civil society groups and DA engineering officials to go over the findings. Both sides agreed that multiple layers of review — internal, cross-check and independent third-party — are needed to strengthen how project documents are prepared, verified and submitted. The civil society organizations have also been invited to independently validate the coordinates of flagged projects as part of this process.
“This review is not just about fixing individual entries. We are examining our whole process to close gaps, improve validation standards, and stop similar mistakes from happening again,” Tiu-Laurel said. He emphasized that the DA owes the public, Congress, and farmers and fisherfolk the assurance that every peso works exactly where it is intended.
The reforms go beyond correcting data. Tiu-Laurel has directed stronger geotagging, independent validation and public monitoring through the FMR Watch portal — a new DA innovation that lets anyone view project locations, completion status, contractor details and even upload on-site photos in real time. Civil society groups have praised the portal as a major step toward transparency and offered to expand cooperation through community monitoring networks.
The push for accountability also builds on earlier action: the DA under Tiu-Laurel filed complaints that led to the recent preventive suspension of several Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) officials over P94 million worth of ghost or incomplete FMR projects in Davao Occidental, uncovered during audits of work done before the program was returned to DA supervision earlier this year. Investigations found projects reported as 100 percent complete and fully paid were either unfinished or never built at all.
The policy importance of these steps is clear: reliable project data ensures Congress can make sound budget decisions, public funds reach real, needed infrastructure, and communities can trust that reported projects actually exist and deliver value. Moving forward, the DA will keep working closely with both chambers of Congress and independent partners to maintain accurate records and strengthen public oversight.
