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A last-minute switch in the list of farm-to-market road (FMR) projects worth P8.9 million under the Department of Agriculture (DA) budget was approved by the bicameral conference committee (bicam) on Wednesday, Dec. 17. (Video courtesy of Senate of the Philippines)
READ: https://mb.com.ph/2025/12/18/pahabol-bicam-oks-last-minute-swap-in-das-p89-billion-farm-to-market-road-projects
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READ: https://mb.com.ph/2025/12/18/pahabol-bicam-oks-last-minute-swap-in-das-p89-billion-farm-to-market-road-projects
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NewsTranscript
00:00it was already raised earlier that there were several requests i just want to place this on
00:05record that after we approved the budget of the department of agriculture that evening
00:14december 15 when did we approve the da budget december 13
00:20the bicam the bicam approved the da budget on december 15th the da secretary wrote
00:27uh to the chairperson uh submitting a list of farm to market road projects with coordinates
00:38uh amounting to the same amount that we approved 33.9 33 billion except that uh 8.9 billion worth of
00:51projects were uh introduced uh as a uh in the december 15 letter which was not uh in the uh list uh of uh
01:09projects that we approved on december 13. uh what does how do we ask them there mr chair
01:17um at the end of the day i will support my chair but let me please put this on record
01:27just like i spoke last night and now about the otr it's the same issue with the department of
01:35agriculture if the more than 8 billion pesos worth of farm to market roads were indeed essential in
01:44serving our farmers in the hinterlands why was it not included in the net or even in the h gab even if
01:54you say that there are coordinates why did they swap so i would like to know what were the more than
02:028 billion pesos worth of fmrs that are deleted now from the h gab and the senate version that we are
02:13reviewing in the bycam sino po ang mga magsasaka na maaapektuhan sa matatanggal na fmr
02:21dahil pinalitan ng da ang kanilang listahan ng farm to market road
02:29uh i don't understand so ano mangyayari po sa farm to markets roads na sinumite ng da na inaprubahan
02:41ng h gab na inaprubahan po natin tapos papalitan dahil sa isang sulat so i would just like to
02:51make it clear that these are not senate introduced fmrs we did not introduce uh or or submit a list
03:03to the secretary just to be fair okay insofar the senate is concerned we understand and support the
03:11house amendments for farm to market roads in specific rural districts and that is both needed
03:22and as long as there are coordinates and not just a lump sum that is supported but suddenly there's a
03:27change and as i said i spoke to secretary laurel on sunday morning because i was confused with the 16b
03:39net and the another 16b h gab and he said i don't know if i should say it here
03:47okay he said something i will tell you later
03:56then i i'm surprised that he's he's sending another letter now for another 8 billion
04:02so i would like to know i have to be enlightened mr chair uh why is there suddenly within three days of
04:10that conversation there's a change of heart or a change of mind of farm to market roads worth eight
04:19billion ano po mangyayari sa tinanggal niyang eight billion at anong nangyari sa ating kanayuna
04:27na kailangan bigla ng eight billion na ito so may switching may switching may swap so yung tinanggal
04:36po na eight billion malay ko kung saan yun saan po ilalagay sa nep ng 2027 ito pong bagong eight
04:44billion saan po nang galing yan ano mga distrito probinsya bundok kanayunan saan please enlighten
04:52this representation i'm not trying to interpolate my colleague uh because i did not receive the letter i just
05:00want to understand please again if we will make this a habit then every agency will change
05:12internal realization oh pareho naman ng level eh papalitan na namin ng lamad ano tayo halohalong
05:18kalamay ang buy cam ang buy cam nangyayari ba sa akin noon ay hindi ko tatanggap ng ganyan last minute
05:28so uh maybe you can what is that agricultural emergency
05:39that the da will have to change eight billion worth of fmrs i want to know and understand
05:47i'm not angry at the vice chair or the chair of agri i'm just passionate when there's something i do
05:52not understand and i need to comprehend it mr chair thank in the end i will support my chair
06:00if i may uh place on record this request has not been acted on so uh we can we continue to
06:10well at least for the for the senate we are standing by the previous list that we approved uh on december
06:1713. now if uh uh uh unless uh there are members of the bicameral conference committee who disagree i
06:29think we should stick with the december 13 uh
06:36mr chair and and for the record the december 13 list has coordinates the 33 billion peso december
06:4313 list we approved it with uh with the coordinates uh and the 8.9 likewise has coordinates but they are
06:55a different set of projects uh from that which we approved on december 13. in other words they are
07:01removing 8.9 billion pesos worth of projects that we approved with coordinates and replacing them with
07:108.9 billion worth of uh new or different projects also with coordinates
07:19alam ko sasabihin po nila pareho naman yung level pero again kung pinayagan natin sa dotr
07:26sa da what will stop other agencies ah change na lang yung listahan ng classroom sa dep ed ah change na lang yung
07:35ibang mga highway at multi-purpose uh dpwh ah palitan na lang lahat ng irigasyon sa niya ah
07:43tanggalin na lang these lapses will affect the planning of projects that are you know we're so diligent in
07:51our responsibility to plan to submit requirements tapos isang sulat lang palit palit uh i think you have
08:00um i'm sorry mr chair okay hindi ako yung chair see ano yung dahilan may dahilan if it's a national security issue
08:11yes if it's so important yes i want to understand gusto ko lang maintindihan
08:17so there's something he knows that we don't know may may i venture a guess based on the letter that he
08:36sent to us and the reason that he gave uh part of the reason that he gave was please be informed that
08:43the earlier submission was made without the approval of the secretary of agriculture
08:48as the undersigned was on official medical leave at that time so uh so my and this is where my guest
08:58comes in now this is where my intelligent guest comes in if i may be allowed to perhaps try to
09:06understand what happened here uh this is the first time we have asked for coordinates
09:11we've never asked for coordinates before uh in previous budgets it has always been lump sum
09:18so it is possible that because this is the first time that this is being requested
09:23then therefore the preparation of these coordinates had to go through a a process that uh somehow there
09:32were gaps uh and that being the case because of the gaps uh they had to uh correct uh these submissions
09:40that is my uh intelligent uh understanding we've never asked for coordinates or in an itemized uh list of
09:50projects in the past this is the first time mr chair may i ang dpwh months ago sabi overpriced
10:01monohan budget yan overpriced ibaba paulit ulit sa hearing sa technical working group sa media even the president
10:13said the same thing our chair worked diligently with lbmo everyone and dpwh binaba ayon sa kanilang inputs at methodology
10:25binaba in approve net sabot last you know maybe sabi sabi come sabi isausta
10:32nga nagkaroon ng impasse for a while pero nasolve natin sa cmpd thank you tom and to the house
10:37for agreeing for a truthful accurate budget alamat tapos dotr yan may letour
10:41Tapos DOTR. May letter. Internal realignment. Sige na. Tapos ang DA. Yung 8.9, hindi pala official transmission yan. Hindi pala in-approve ng secretary. We approved it. What does it make of us? It's not an official list. Now this is the official list.
11:03But, ah, so we better have rules. I think the bicameral committee has to have rules. When there are letters from the cabinet, that means letters given to the chair are not official transmission. We have to check. There should be maybe a watermark. So they're saying that these were not official transmissions because the secretary was on medical leave. Ano ibig sabihin yan?
11:28So, sino nagpadala? USEC niya? Was it a fake list? And then the bicameral conference committee approved it? Ah, hindi ganyan eh. Nangyayari ba yan noong 10 years ago? Hindi eh.
11:44Not as, not as, walang ganyan. Hindi nangyayari yan noon. Hindi ganitong kagarapal. Ang pagpapalit-palit. Ibaba ang presyo. Sumunod. Ayon sa kanila. Itaas ang presyo. Recompute. DPWH yan. DOTR, realignment. Malit lang naman. DA, palitan. Hindi ako yun. Hindi kami yun. Walang coordinates yan. Or meron pero mali yung listahan.
12:12Yan ang sinabi ko. Taklo na yan. O ilan pa. Oh, baka maglapitan lahat ng ayan siya ngayon. Pwede palang magpalit. Palitan namin lahat ng laman. Pareho naman ang level eh.
12:24Mr. President, I'm sorry. I have to express my disappointment and exasperation. There has to be some discipline and government.
12:34Diba sa skwela tayo, pinag-aral tayo, finish or not finish, pass your paper.
12:39Pag nagraduha na ng teacher, tama na. Hindi pwede nga. Magpalit. Yung seatmate ko. Mali. Mali.
12:47Ano tayo? How can we be a good example to people?
12:52Kung sabay kam na, nagpapalit. Tama yung sinabi. Disagree and provision, sabi ni Senator Irwin.
12:58If I may, Senwin, I'll just read part of the letter sent by Secretary Francisco Chulaurel
13:05explaining the new list. After thorough consideration, the Department has identified the final
13:11FMR projects that are critical in linking key production areas. These projects were selected
13:17based on their readiness for implementation, consistency with national and regional development
13:21priorities, and their projected contribution to enhancing agricultural productivity,
13:26minimizing post-harvest losses, and expanding market access for farmers in priority areas.
13:32Further, the Department will be undertaking for the first time the direct implementation
13:37of farm-to-market road projects. Hence, the attached final list consists of projects that
13:42are operationally workable on the part of the Department and conducive to timely and effective
13:46implementation. I'm not sure if this is the same letter that Sen Kiko has on hand because
13:52also in the first paragraph, he explained that the undersigned was on official medical leave
13:58at the time that the, during the earlier submission that was, that was, so he says that
14:05please be informed that the earlier submission was undertaken without the approval of the
14:09Secretary of Agriculture as the undersigned was on official medical leave at the time.
14:17Actually, I was talking to Senator Lorian. Ang tanong niya, kung nangyayari ho ito nung mga
14:24unang panahon. Ang sagot ko, hindi ko alam dahil kayo-kayo lang nag-uusap eh.
14:30Ngayon, I'm not saying you, but I'm saying in general, in general. I'm not saying you,
14:35Ma'am Lauren. I'm saying in general, dahil this is the innovation that we introduced so that
14:41all of these things we were brought out to the body. Pag-usapan natin, pag-debatihan natin,
14:47we might not agree, we might agree, we might find some solutions. Pero ang importante ho dito,
14:52nalalaman ng lahat. Hindi lang sa ilan-ilan lang po ang nalalaman. In fact,
14:59dati ho kasi, lalabas nilang po yung general appropriations, build ho na lang natin
15:04nakikita kung ano yung mga projects na pumapasok at hindi pumapasok. Pero ito po ang
15:09kagandahan po ng open by cam or ganitong proceedings para mapag-usapan ho natin.
15:15That's why. Thank you for that, Chair. Totoo, nung panahon dati, 10 years ago,
15:21yung dalawang chair and Elberemo and the APRO staff. That's why I was asking
15:26Atty. Doblon 10 years ago, I can't recall, meron bang mga pahabol na ganyan?
15:31But she says, meron, pero pag na-discuss na yung department, tapos na. Or hindi ganyang
15:39kalalaki yung changes. But then, I appreciate the candor of the chair and his calmness in
15:45taking all this. But it's up to you whether to accept it or not. I said at the end, I will
15:50accept and support your decision. We just have to agree na huwag masanay lahat ng ahensya
15:57na magpalit sa last minute. We have to change that attitude. But I support you, Chair.
16:04Mr. Chairman, with the permission of our colleagues. Apparently, the letter read by
16:11Representative Swan Singh mentioned that please be informed that the earlier submission
16:18was made without the approval of the Secretary. This, as we were made to understand and relayed
16:26by the Department of Agriculture, the submission here was the net list of projects, net list
16:34of projects. And therefore, and what happened subsequently was that because it was submitted
16:44without the approval of the Secretary, the buffet head was removed or was replaced. So that's
16:52the information that has been relayed to us. And therefore, they are now submitting this
17:02new list. What's important, I think, in the end, and again, I share the concern that these
17:08last minute appeals should not be the norm. What's important here is that for the first time,
17:16the list has coordinates. This has never been done before. And therefore, the accountability
17:24and transparency objective is met. Of course, we have to continue to be vigilant. And that's
17:33why we have identified this information. We are also, we have also put forth a provision,
17:41a special provision on citizens participatory audit, which means as the project is being
17:46implemented. The COA has a memorandum circular that provides for a program wherein citizens can
17:58participate in the audit. And we've also included that as a special provision in the implementation
18:03of the farm-to-market road projects. So again, the key here is we do not, well, there is transparency,
18:13there is accountability, there are coordinates that are now made available point-to-point, and
18:20there will be a special provision on citizens participatory audit. So having said that, again,
18:28this should not be a precedent for future bicameral conference committee meetings. And we share the
18:34position of the chair that we will support the inclusion of this new list.
18:42If I may, Senwyn, so I agree with the statement of Senator Lauren and Senator Kiko, we also don't
18:48want this to be the norm. All of these last-minute requests from the secretary should not be the
18:53norm, and we support that. Siguro po ang magkagandahan po dito, na-check na po kasi talaga
18:59isa-isa ng DA yung mga proyekto na ipapasok po natin sa budget sa 2026. As they explained it,
19:07they selected it based on their readiness for implementation, consistency with national
19:12and regional development priorities, and their projected contribution to enhancing
19:16agricultural productivity, minimizing post-harvest losses, and expanding market access for
19:21farmers in priority areas. So, bukod po sa masisigurado na ma-implement itong mga
19:28proyekto na ito, dahil specific na po yung areas eh. Kaya na po din silipin ng ating mga
19:33kababayan, ng mga audit, um, auditors, mga third party na gustong mag-check, um,
19:39identified po eh. Bukod dun sa increased implementability ng mga projects, nasisigurado
19:45din po nito na na-identify na ng DA kung ano lang talaga yung pinaka-prioridad ng mga
19:52farm-to-market roads. So, hindi na po yung mga, um, lugar siguro na, di ba, mauuna na yung
19:59pinaka-connected doon po sa mga main thoroughfare. So, yun po siguro yun, um, mas, um, masigurado
20:05po na may implement yung mga programa at masisigurado din po na yung atin pong
20:11pupunduhan ay yung mga talagang pinaka-prioridad at pinaka-mahalaga ng mga farm-to-market
20:16roads. And again, I share the sentiments of our colleagues that this should not be the norm
20:22moving forward in the succeeding budget seasons. I appreciate the concurrence of the House Chair,
20:28uh, Kong Swan Singh. Let me just put on record, Mr. Chair, that when the GA is signed and we have an
20:34oversight committee, I'd just like to see the comparison of the 8.9 B as part of the 16 B
20:42FMR in the NEP, which was unauthorized, but we're surprised, and that should not happen again
20:50when departments send us communications. Sabi nga ni Chair, binigay sa atin eh.
20:55Malay naman natin, NEP nga ito. Malay naman natin finar niya yung tao niya. The internal
20:59troubles of a department is not our problem. It becomes our problem now when we're informed
21:06six months later that it's not authorized. I mean, that's dangerous. So, and then we want
21:12to compare, uh, what was the unauthorized list and what is the new list? Uh, but again, I leave it to
21:19the Chair of the Agri during our oversight by 2026. Thank you.
21:24And if, and just to manifest po, in terms of the completion of the list as of today, out of the
21:311,674 projects, um, that comprise the 32 billion, 99.4% of the projects are already complete with all the
21:44coordinates and all the, the specific locations. So, some pool lang po sa 1,674 na projects yung wala
21:52pang coordinates. So, yung sinamit po nila ng listahan, um, 99.4% na po yun, um, ng 32 billion,
21:59kompleto na, halos kompleto na po yung listahan na sinumite po ng DA para po doon sa 32 billion.
22:05Uh, sa akin lang naman, uh, if the Secretary is saying na hindi ito yung kanyang approved, uh,
22:13projects, at, uh, pinaalis niya yung kanyang head, no, ng kanyang, uh, uh, Bureau of, uh, Farm
22:21Equipment, uh, mahirapan naman ho siyang i-implement yung projects na hindi niya na-evaluate o hindi niya ho nakita
22:29nakita o hindi niya na-approve. So, it's going to be very difficult for him, especially na wala na yung
22:35tao doon na, na, na, na nagsubmit nitong project. So, if I put myself in the shoes of the Secretary,
22:41tapos may mga projects na hindi ko na-approve, uh, paano ko naman i-implement ho yung kung, uh,
22:47tingin ko ay hindi ho, uh, nararapat yung mga projects na yun. Mahirap rin for the Secretary, no,
22:52especially, uh, in the 2026, bago lahat yung kanyang mga, uh, pondo. Yes, if I may add,
22:59uh, apart from the two area, uh, earlier special provisions of, uh, citizens participatory audit
23:08and, um, what's the other one? Uh, no, no, no. Um, we will have the, uh, uh, online dashboard, uh,
23:23so that, uh, this will now be made available online. Uh, the, uh,
23:29DA has agreed to that. Uh, very basic also in terms of the safeguard is we remove the farm-to-market
23:38road projects from the DPWH and place it under the DA. And we also identified, uh, possible modes of,
23:47uh, implementing the farm-to-market road projects to include local government, uh, uh, partnerships,
23:55partnerships, as well as PPP or private, uh, public partnerships. Uh, when the local governments
24:02are involved, when private sector is involved, there is, uh, greater participation, there is
24:07greater transparency and therefore greater accountability. So all these, uh, are part of the
24:14special provisions, uh, that we have, uh, put forth, uh, for the Senate version. And I understand when we
24:22approved it because we already manifested this earlier, it has likewise been adopted by the
24:26bicameral conference, these special provisions.
24:33Any more comments? Uh,
24:36So moved, Mr. Chair. Okay. The, uh, motion to, uh, adopt, um, the, uh, uh, new list that came from the
24:47department of agriculture, Julie signed by the secretary himself, secretary Francisco Tura Laurel,
24:54esteem approved. And, uh, in the interest of transparency, we will, uh, publish the, uh,
25:01the amendments that were made, uh, in the website. So, uh, we will also, um, uh, upload, uh, the list of,
25:09uh, amendments that we, uh, uh, approve, uh, during the bicameral conference committee.
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