The Senate has flagged over ₱10 billion worth of farm-to-market roads (FMRs) as “extremely overpriced,” with some projects allegedly costing more than 23 times the standard price set by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).
Senate Committee on Finance chair Senator Sherwin Gatchalian revealed the findings during the deliberation on the Department of Agriculture’s (DA) proposed ₱176.7-billion budget for 2026.
“Kinompute namin ang overshoot or overpricing in 2023 and 2024, lumalabas about P10.3 billion ang overpriced farm-to-market roads, equivalent to about 683 kilometers. So ‘yung 683 km, pwede na tayong gumawa ng kalsada…two lanes all the way from Manila to Aparri,” Gatchalian said.
He identified a road concreting project in Barangay San Roque, Tacloban City as the most overpriced, with an allocation of ₱100 million for only 0.287 kilometers of road — equivalent to ₱348,432 per meter, or more than 23 times the DPWH’s ₱15,000-per-meter benchmark.
Another project in Daraga, Albay, implemented by Hi-Tone Construction and Development Corporation — a firm linked to former Ako Bicol Representative Zaldy Co — was found to cost ₱124,324 per meter for a 370-meter stretch of road funded with ₱46 million.
“Hindi lang ito (these are not just) extremely overpriced, [kundi] extremely, extremely, extremely overpriced, Secretary,” Gatchalian stressed.
According to his report, Bicol Region topped the list of overpriced FMRs with 80 projects worth ₱1.7 billion, followed by Eastern Visayas with 33 projects valued at ₱791 million.
Gatchalian also noted that three contractors — EGB Construction Corporation, Hi-Tone Construction and Development Corp., and Road Edge Trading & Development Services — were among the Top 15 flood control contractors previously identified by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. as cornering 20 percent of the country’s total flood control budget.
For the senator, the overlap in contractors and the concentration of overpriced projects in Bicol and Eastern Visayas are “no coincidence.”
Meanwhile, Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. described the findings as “shocking,” noting that the ₱15,000-per-meter standard set by the DPWH was already on the high side.
“Based on what you are showing, Mr. Chair, medyo shocking. But I guess it would be good to ask our new DPWH secretary to help us sort this out,” Laurel said during the hearing.
He confirmed that the DA’s own audit had also discovered non-existent road projects in Davao Occidental and Zamboanga City, reinforcing senators’ concerns about large-scale anomalies in infrastructure spending.
Senator Rodante Marcoleta also pointed out that the concentration of projects in regions politically linked to certain House leaders “speaks volumes,” remarking, “Kilala n’yo na ‘yun.”
The revelation comes amid ongoing investigations into alleged irregularities in flood control projects, which prompted the creation of an independent commission to look into the suspected collusion between lawmakers, government officials, and contractors.
