by Diego Morra
The Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP) has warned that the ₱33.9-billion earmarked for farm-to-market roads (FMRs) in the 2026 national budget is not only bloated but also another cash cow for corrupt public officials. It will not be surprise if these roads will lead to resorts and resthouses of lawmakers, local officials and bureaucrats at the Department of Agriculture (DA.)
KMP national chairperson Danilo Ramos argued that FMR funds are intertwined with the entrenched system of congressional “allocables” or pork barrel for infrastructure projects. This system panders to the selfish interests of members of political dynasties (more than 75% of the members of the House of Representatives belong to such dynasties.) Farmers do not have a say on where these FMRs will be constructed and there is no rhyme or reason in designing these roads since there is no viable or scientifically-grounded master plan for regional, provincial or municipal road networks. If the DA got it right, the FMR backlog is more than 60,000 kilometers, which hasn’t moved from the unlamented laggard of a regime under Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.
DA says that FMRs cost between ₱12 million and ₱15 million per kilometer, which it claims to be lower than the cost of FMRs handled by the DPWH, but the department believes that with the use of soil stabilizers and better technologies, the cost will be pared down. For this year, DA hopes to build 2,750 kilometers of FMRs. At that rate, KMP estimates that DA will take 21 years to meet the backlog, which indicates that from the time of the Arroyo regime nothing significant happened to the FMR program. As it is, the existing FMRs also function as solar dryers for rice and corn farmers but certainly much more expensive than the multipurpose pavements under the Cory Aquino regime.
Nevertheless, for the DA to be true to its vow, it must plug the holes in the program that led to the discovery that FMRs valued at ₱10 billion in 2023 and 2024 were overpriced, with a project in Tacloban pegged at ₱348,000 per meter (at 287 meters) and another one in Albay at ₱124,000 per meter (for 370 meters), astronomically higher than the DPWH estimate of ₱15,000 per meter. \One senator confirmed that FMR projects are notorious for overpricing, and no less than 1,653 such roads were riddled with irregularities, 80 of them in Bicol and 33 in Eastern Visayas. In Mindanao, investigation showed that there were nine ghost FMR projects.
If the Marcos Jr. administration were true to its vow to make the FMR program to be hastened and succeed, then it must keep the usual vultures out of those projects, prevent politicians from dipping their fingers into the awards of projects, kicking out their construction firms and those owned by their kin or nominees from FMRs and allowing farmers themselves to exercise oversight functions on those projects inasmuch as they are the ones who should benefit from them. KMP argued that lawmakers should be banned from influencing the identification and location of projects and creating opportunities for the payment of standard operating procedures (SOPs) as well as bringing in their favorite contractors or paying off their ward leaders.
“Under the 2026 national budget approved by Congress and signed by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., allocations for FMRs under DA and other infrastructure programs costing more than ₱P33 billion have ballooned far beyond the original proposals. Instead of addressing farmers’ urgent needs, these funds are being used as congressional and executive pork that are open to political manipulation, kickbacks and ghost or substandard projects,” Ramos explained. “The FMR allocation has long been one of the dirtiest pockets of corruption in the annual appropriations act and the 2026 budget makes it even worse. In the name of developing agriculture and helping farmers, billions are poured into road projects that farmers never asked for, never needed or never seen completed.”
Ramos said government has not crafted any KMP pointed out that the FMR program continues to be implemented without a genuine, farmer-centered development plan. Many FMR projects are built in areas with little or no agricultural production, while real farm communities remain without passable roads, irrigation, post-harvest facilities, or support for production. This exposes FMRs as infrastructure pork designed to generate kickbacks rather than uplift the conditions of farmers, the farmer leader stressed. “Farm-to-Market Roads have become farm-to-pocket roads,” said KMP secretary general Ronnie Manalo. “These projects are routinely used by politicians and contractors to siphon off public funds through overpriced, low-quality, or non-existent roads. Farmers are used as an excuse, but they are not the beneficiaries.” The 2026 budget doesn’t prioritize genuine land distribution, irrigation systems managed by farmers, support for local production, farmgate price support, and protection against import liberalization.
“This regime would rather pour billions into questionable road projects than implement genuine agrarian reform and provide direct production support and compensation to farmers,” Ramos said “FMRs are being used to mask the anti-farmer character of the Marcos budget while enriching politicians, contractors, and cronies.” KMP warned that the expansion of FMR funding, amid weak transparency and accountability mechanisms, will only worsen corruption in congressional districts. Without genuine farmer participation, public disclosure, and strict accountability, these projects will remain symbols of waste and exploitation. Out of the P33.9 billion FMR budget for 2026, P4.89 billion will go to Central Luzon, Eastern Visayas will get P4.3 billion, followed by Cagayan Valley P3.782 billion, Soccsksargen with P3.568 billion and Calabarzon will get P2.651 billion.
