MANILA—The Department of Agriculture (DA) has discovered alleged “ghost” farm-to-market roads worth around P75 million in Mindanao, Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said Tuesday.

In an interview on Super Radyo dzBB, Tiu Laurel said the initial findings pointed to an isolated case.

“Sa ngayon initial reports pa lang at hindi naman ganoon kalaki in terms of the whole FMR projects, isolated case pa ang nakita namin sa Region XI at meron din sa may Zamboanga City,” he said.

In a media report, he explained that the questionable projects covered about five kilometers of road, valued at an estimated P75 million. These were implemented between 2021 and 2022.

Tiu Laurel said the contractors involved were small firms and not among the 15 large companies earlier identified by President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. as cornering most flood control projects nationwide.

“Ah wala, per kilometer nito nasa P15 million lang eh, this is a very small contract,” he said.

The DA chief clarified that the projects were not insertions in the national budget. “I don’t think this is an insertion, nasa GAA namin to basically… but of course implementing agency nito DPWH,” he said, adding that he has coordinated with Public Works and Highways Secretary Vince Dizon regarding the matter.

Tiu Laurel said he had already informed the President verbally and would submit a formal report to Malacañang on Wednesday, October 1.

“Nainform ko na verbally si Presidente tungkol diyan and I’ll have a formal report submitted tomorrow to the Office of the President. Initial findings lang,” he said.

Malacañang confirmed that the administration is looking into the alleged ghost projects. “Katulad po ng sinabi natin, lahat ng mga ganitong klase na may anomalya, hindi lamang po sa flood control projects kung hindi sa lahat ng infrastructure, iyan po ay tututukan,” the Palace said.

The DA has initiated a sweeping audit of all farm-to-market road projects since 2021, with completion targeted before the year ends. Tiu Laurel earlier explained that while the DA identifies and validates the projects, they are bid out and constructed by the Department of Public Works and Highways.