MANILA — The Department of Agriculture (DA) has uncovered at least ₱75 million worth of farm-to-market roads in Mindanao that exist only on paper, raising fresh concerns over government spending on rural infrastructure. Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. disclosed on Tuesday that an initial audit flagged questionable projects in Region XI and Zamboanga City covering roughly five kilometers of supposed roads built between 2021 and 2022. The agriculture chief estimated the value of the ghost projects at around ₱75 million, with contracts awarded to small players, not to big construction firms earlier flagged by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. for cornering government projects. Tiu Laurel stressed that the projects were not questionable “insertions” in the budget and has already coordinated with Public Works Secretary Vince Dizon. The DA chief said Marcos has been verbally informed of the findings and will receive a written report on October 1, with the DA’s comprehensive review of farm-to-market roads expected to be completed by year-end.
