Hagonoy farmers, fisherfolk call for probe amid anomalies in farm-to-market road projects

“For decades, farm-to-market roads have been an automatic source of profit for politicians, contractors, and corrupt government officials. Even before flood control projects and dikes, FMRs were already the original scheme for plundering agriculture funds, with huge budgets, no accountability, and farmers always losing out.”

MANILA – The Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP) has urged Filipino farmers and the public to closely monitor and hold the Department of Agriculture (DA) accountable in the implementation of farm-to-market road (FMR) projects, following the launch of the agency’s FMR Watch online portal. The group warned that the program has long been plagued by corruption and misuse of public funds.

Farm-to-market roads, previously managed by the Department of Agriculture, are now under the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) to help expedite the construction of 60,000 kilometers of needed rural roads. KMP said that FMR projects have long been vulnerable to irregularities, including roads that remain unfinished, deteriorate quickly, fail to reach actual farms, or exist only on paper.

“For decades, farm-to-market roads have been an automatic source of profit for politicians, contractors, and corrupt government officials. Even before flood control projects and dikes, FMRs were already the original scheme for plundering agriculture funds, with huge budgets, no accountability, and farmers always losing out,” the group said.

The group also stressed the financial stakes of these projects. The government reported spending P76.52 billion (US$1.31 billion) on over 4,800 FMR projects from 2021 to 2025, with an additional P33 billion ($564 million) for 2026. 

As of August 2025, verified but unfunded FMR project proposals already amount to P286.54 billion ($5.16 billion), or more than 20,000 kilometers of unbuilt farm roads.

Farm-to-market roads are intended to connect farms and fishing areas to markets, allowing farmers and fisherfolk to transport their harvest and catch more efficiently.

For rice farmers in Hagonoy, the reality remains challenging.

“It takes longer to bring rice to the market than it does to actually harvest it. The transportation is slow, the vehicles get stuck in mud, and some of the rice even gets wet or damaged. We have to pay extra for labor and transport, which reduces the profit we make. Even if the harvest is good, the bad roads make it feel like we are still struggling every season,” said Cedrick Asunción, a rice farmer in Hagonoy in an interview.

“With so much money spent on these roads, it’s frustrating to see projects left unfinished or poorly built. If no one watches closely, the funds just end up in the wrong pockets while we farmers continue struggling to bring our rice to the market,” said Asunción.

KMP warned that the FMR Watch portal should not serve merely as a public relations tool.

“At this level of funding, there is no room for failed, substandard, or fake projects. We must be vigilant because these roads could easily become ‘farm-to-pocket’ projects,” the group said.

The organization added that transparency must go beyond maps and photos.

“If the DA is serious about transparency, it must show not only the maps and pictures of the projects, but also the shortcomings, anomalies, and the names of officials responsible at every level from national down to local,” KMP said.

Fisherfolk in Hagonoy face similar challenges, especially when transporting their catch to the market.

“Some of the fish we catch in the canals near barangay Poblacion spoil before we reach the market because the roads are muddy and full of potholes. Sometimes, we have to wait hours for vehicles to pass or pay extra to transport our catch safely. It feels like all our hard work in fishing is wasted because the infrastructure isn’t reliable,” Raul Mendoza, a fisherman from Hagonoy, told Bulatlat in an interview. 

KMP also criticized the repeated use of farm-to-market road projects as a supposed solution to rural poverty, arguing that without deeper structural reforms such as genuine land reform, food security measures, and a push for national industrialization, infrastructure spending alone will not uplift rural communities. 

KMP argued that infrastructure projects cannot substitute for these foundational reforms, emphasizing that rural poverty and high food prices are tied to deeper systemic issues. They said: “No matter how long the road is, if farmers are burdened with debt and crop production and prices are controlled by cartels, there is no real development.”

KMP urged farmers, fisherfolk, local communities, media, and organizations to actively use the FMR Watch portal and compare its data with the conditions on the ground. The group also issued a direct call for citizens to inspect the farm-to-market roads being constructed by the DA in their own areas.

“It’s not enough to build roads; we have to make sure they actually help farmers like us, not just line the pockets of officials or contractors. Every time a project is delayed, poorly built, or left unfinished, it’s clear that corruption and mismanagement are still the bigger problem. The government talks about progress, but for us, it feels like promises are made only to cover up failures while we continue struggling to bring our rice to the market,” Asunción said.

“Even for us fishermen, it makes a huge difference whether the roads to the market are reliable,” said Mendoza. “If the roads are full of potholes, blocked, or washed out during rains, our catch can spoil before we even get a chance to sell it. We often have to pay extra just to get our fish safely to the market, and sometimes we lose part of our earnings to transport delays. It feels like the government is more focused on spending the money than actually making the roads usable. We need to monitor these projects ourselves because if we rely only on officials, our labor and livelihood are the ones that suffer.” (AMU, RVO)

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