00:00Civil Society Group People's Budget Coalition raises red flags during the Senate Finance Committee hearing on the proposed 2027 budget
00:08of the Department of Agriculture.
00:10At the center of the group's report are farm-to-market and irrigation projects.
00:14Following the flood control scandal, the DA launched a portal for farm-to-market projects to monitor the standard and
00:20completion of farm-to-market roads worth millions of pesos.
00:24But the PBC flags 15 billion peso worth of farm-to-market and irrigation projects that do not have publicly
00:31posted project attachments.
00:33The group alleges these projects are insertions made in the House of Representatives.
00:38PBC co-convener Kenneth Abante says the House inserted 355 farm-to-market projects not originally included in the National
00:46Expenditure Program and the DA's proposal.
00:48The group also flags wrong coordinates of some farm-to-market projects, according to citizen-led mapping of 18,000
00:55projects in the House's General Appropriations Bill.
00:58Abante says a 23 million peso farm-to-market project in Nueva Ecija had coordinates that point to the sea
01:04near Benham Rise, while a project that is supposed to be in Cebu appeared in Celebes Sea.
01:09Coordinates of a 55 million peso project also appeared in the waters near Brunei.
01:13The group also points out costs that were allegedly way over the market price.
01:18The DA took over farm-to-market projects from the Department of Public Works and Highways after the latter faced
01:24public scrutiny over allegations of massive corruption.
