Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said on Tuesday initial findings of an ongoing investigation into “ghost” farm-to-market road projects in Mindanao have so far cleared his department’s personnel.
He said no signatures from the Department of Agriculture (DA) Regional Agricultural Engineering Division (RAED) have so far been linked to the projects, reported to be worth P75 million.
“No DA people are involved so far … Our RAED did not sign — based on our initial findings,” Tiu Laurel told Malaya Business Insight. He stressed that if evidence surfaced implicating any staff, they would be “suspended ASAP (as soon as possible).”
RAED oversees the planning and implementation of agri-fisheries mechanization and infrastructure programs and projects by the DA’s regional field offices.
Road projects flagged in the Davao Region and Zamboanga City, were built between 2021 and 2022 by small contractors whom Tiu Laurel declined to identify. He described them as isolated cases, separate from those built by 15 companies which President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. earlier identified in anomalous flood-control projects.
The DA secretary said he has already informed the president of the discovery, with a formal report scheduled for submission on October 1.
Last month, Tiu Laurel ordered an audit of all FMR projects since 2021.
While the DA validates the projects, they are commissioned, bid out, and constructed by the Department of Public Works and Highways, he said. The audit is targeted for completion by year-end.
The government’s roadmap calls for 131,000 kilometers of farm-to-market roads nationwide. As of July 2025, about 70,000 kms have been completed, while 61,000 kms remain as backlog or pending validation.
Tiu Laurel has urged lawmakers to pass a measure mandating a national priority list for FMR projects to curb arbitrary, politically driven selections. He also proposed redesigning road dimensions into narrower three-meter lanes with shoulders every 300 meters, aiming to cut costs and accelerate construction.
