KMP warns of ‘recycled corruption’ amid ghost project scandal

MANILA – The Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP) stressed that the Marcos Jr. administration’s decision to transfer the management of the farm-to-market roads (FMR) program from the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) to the Department of Agriculture (DA) starting 2026 could lead to a “recycling of corruption,” following the exposure of irregular, overpriced, and “ghost” projects worth billions of pesos in recent years.

Marcos Jr. announced that the government would lower the costs of FMR projects for 2026 after revelations of “ghost” and overpriced road projects under the DPWH. “We are reducing costs for 2026 of the FMRs, the irrigation, classrooms, and hospitals,” Marcos said in his departure statement for his visit to South Korea. “So, let me be clear, the quality of what we build will not be compromised. The only thing weakened will be corruption. This is the accountability our citizens deserve.”

Marcos Jr said that the DPWH is now aligning its project costs with real market prices and reducing these by up to 50 percent. He also directed other agencies including the DA, National Irrigation Administration (NIA), Department of Education (DepEd), Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), Department of Health (DOH), and Department of Transportation (DOTr) to follow the same pricing system that will be set by the DPWH.

“The savings we secure will go where they matter most, to programs that uplift families, support livelihoods, and strengthen communities,” Marcos Jr said. “A government that honors public trust, a nation that stands firm on integrity, this is our promise. A real change for every Filipino today and for generations to come.”

Despite this assurance, KMP called the transfer of the FMR program to the DA a “public relations stunt” meant to deflect public outrage from the DPWH’s corruption controversies. “If the DPWH is the bastion of corruption, the DA has its own long list of anomalies, from the fertilizer fund scam to smuggling and plunder in the NFA. The result is the same, funds meant for farmers and agriculture end up in the pockets of corrupt officials,” said KMP Chairperson Danilo Ramos.

Recent Senate hearings revealed that over P10.3 billion (around $175 million) had been lost to overpriced, unfinished, and non-existent FMR projects. Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian, chair of the Senate finance committee, flagged the 2023 and 2024 FMR budgets as riddled with irregularities. The DA itself uncovered “ghost or semi-ghost projects” worth P75 million (around $1.3 million), including seven projects in Davao Occidental that were reported as completed but “no roads were actually found.” These supposed FMRs worth P105 million (around $1.8 million) were listed as accomplished from 2021 to 2023.

In Leyte, a road project in Barangay San Roque reportedly cost P100 million (around $1.7 million) for only 0.287 kilometers of road, equivalent to over P348,000 ($5,900) per meter, or 23 times higher than the standard rate. The standard cost for FMRs, as set by the DPWH, is typically P15,000 ($255) per meter and can go as low as P10,000 ($170) per meter. According to reports, three contractors already implicated in the DPWH flood-control corruption scandal are likewise involved in allegedly overpriced FMR contracts.

Agriculture Sec. Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. confirmed that the DA will take over FMR construction from the DPWH in 2026. “This transfer is necessary to ensure proper monitoring, transparency, and accountability in the implementation of agricultural infrastructure,” Tiu Laurel said, after the DA submitted its audit findings to the President.

However, the KMP questioned whether the DA could be trusted to clean up the mess. The group cited the Commission on Audit’s (COA) 2020 report showing over P32 billion (around $544 million) in DA funds with defective documentation or unaccounted spending, as well as the long trail of corruption scandals in the department, such as the 2003 Fertilizer Fund Scam and the 2024 National Food Authority (NFA) rice stock anomaly. “Transferring the FMR program from one corrupt agency to another will not solve anything. It only recycles corruption under a new banner,” Ramos said.

The government earlier said that the DA will handle a P16-billion (around $272 million) budget for more than a thousand kilometers of farm-to-market roads in 2026, supposedly to “enhance transparency, accountability, and monitoring” in rural infrastructure. But KMP stressed that the promise of reform will remain hollow unless farmers themselves are involved in the decision-making process.

“The solution is not merely transferring the program from one agency to another,” the group said. “The FMRs, in their true essence, should serve as bridges that connect farmers’ products to the market, not as funds that go into the pockets or ‘farm-to-pocket roads’ of corrupt officials. FMR projects should genuinely serve the farmers, not become a source of profit for politicians and contractors.”

The farmers’ group also supported House Resolution No. 421 filed by the Makabayan Bloc which seeks a congressional inquiry into alleged overpricing and corruption in FMR projects under both the DA and DPWH. The resolution calls on Congress to investigate the reported P6.4 million ($109,000) per-kilometer discrepancy between the DA’s proposed road costs and the national average.

KMP called for public transparency and grassroots participation in FMR planning and implementation. “Real change does not come from shuffling agencies but from empowering farmers to hold the government accountable,” Ramos said. (DAA)

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