via Erika Lorin Canela
Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian uncovered excessive markup on P10 billion worth of farm-to-market roads (FMRs) under the 2023 and 2024 national budgets, at a Senate committee meeting on Wednesday.
Many FMRs were funded through the General Appropriations Act (GAA) under the 2024 Fiscal Year. “[It is] extremely, extremely, extremely overpriced,” Gatchalian said, referring to an ongoing road concreting project in Tacloban City that was allocated P100 million, making it 23 times more than the standard price set by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).
Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said the DPWH had set a standard cost of P15,000 per meter for FMRs, but noted that the price could drop to P10,000 per meter if the 30% markup were removed.
Another example from the Bicol region, which had the largest number of FMR projects, shows that 80 projects carried a 70% markup, costing ₱1.18 billion instead of the estimated ₱520 million.
Some contractors were not listed in the DPWH Civil Works Contracts Database, raising concerns about transparency and legitimacy.
