MANILA – To ensure the proper implementation of farm-to-market (FMR) projects for the country’s agriculture sector, the Department of Agriculture (DA) said it is open to receiving monitoring support from citizens’ watchdog People’s Budget Coalition (PBC).
This came following the Senate hearing on the proposed budget of the DA for fiscal year 2027.
In a statement Thursday, DA Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said support from the PBC will help sustain proper spending of public funds, alongside rural development for food security.
The group particularly signaled its intent to collaborate with the agency for the submission of reports to the DA’s FMR watch portal.
“We welcome initiatives that empower citizens to hold public spending accountable and ensure that funds go where they are intended and deliver real benefits to the people, from agricultural workers to ordinary residents whose lives are improved by these infrastructure projects,” Tiu Laurel said.
For its part, the PBC seeks to utilize its networks and deploy volunteers to help validate FMR progress reports on the ground.
“We think we can support the citizens' monitoring of these farm-to-market roads and perhaps we can work with Ang Bisto Proyekto Group convened by Cardinal Ambo David at Dondon Parafina,” PBC co-convenor Kenneth Isaiah Abante said.
Abante, meanwhile, lauded the agency’s efforts for transparency and accountability through the FMR Watch portal.
“We commend the DA for launching the Farm-To-Markets Road Watch,” he said.
“Nakita po namin na sa DA may website sila kung saan ini-upload ang (We saw the DA website where they have uploaded) 3,455 completed projects out of 6,428 projects worth PHP110 billion, spanning nearly 2,700 kilometers,” he added.
To verify these, the PBC aims to deploy 200 volunteers to verify progress reports and delivery of contracted FMRs nationwide. (PNA)