MANILA – Agriculture Secretary Francisco P. Tiu Laurel Jr. has ordered an audit of all farm-to-market road (FMR) projects implemented since 2021, citing the need for transparency and accountability following President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s investigation into controversial flood control projects.

“These roads are meant to connect production areas to markets,” Tiu Laurel said. “With what is happening now in flood control projects, I ordered an audit of all FMR projects from 2021 to 2025. If there are any issues in these agricultural road projects, I will have to report that to President Marcos.”

The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) commissions, bids out, and constructs the FMRs, while the Department of Agriculture (DA) identifies and validates them. The DA chief said the audit should be completed before the year ends to ensure that public funds were used properly and not for so-called “farm-to-pocket projects.”

According to government data, the target is to build 131,000 kilometers of FMRs nationwide. As of July, 70,000 kilometers have been completed, while about 61,000 kilometers remain as backlog or pending validation.

During the DA’s 2026 budget hearing at the House of Representatives, Tiu Laurel pushed for legislation mandating a priority list for FMRs to avoid arbitrary site selection, recommending a review of the list every three years to align with agricultural needs.

For 2026, the DA has allocated ₱16 billion for FMRs—well below the ₱56 billion in pending requests from 2025. To maximize funding, the secretary proposed building narrower three-meter-wide roads with shoulders every 300 meters instead of the current five-meter standard, allowing more projects to be constructed at lower cost.

Tiu Laurel stressed that the audit aims to ensure quality, transparency, and results. “We must make sure they are done properly, that taxpayers’ money were spent to provide farmers with market access and not squandered,” he said.