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MANILA – The Department of Agriculture (DA) on Thursday clarified that the earlier-reported “ghost” farm-to-market road (FMR) projects in Lanao del Sur were found to be “existing” after conducting validation.
This came after the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and the DA regional field office submitted a report amid the department’s stringent audit, alongside the government’s parallel probe on the alleged ghost flood control projects.
“Nagpakita sila ng proof at nagpakita na while initially na-report siya as possibly ghost, so noong makita ay existing ‘yung project sa (They have shown proof, and while it was initially reported to be possibly ghost, upon review it was found the projects are existing in) Lanao del Sur,” Agriculture spokesperson Assistant Secretary Arnel de Mesa said in an ambush interview on the sidelines of the 47th Meeting of the ASEAN Ministers on Agriculture and Forestry.
De Mesa, however, maintained that the earlier flagged seven FMRs in Davao Occidental are “most likely ghosts.”
These were also reported to the Office of the President (OP) and the DPWH, he added.
“‘Yung na-monitor naming na pangalan ng contractor doon sa Davao Occidental, karamihan ay (What we have monitored in the list of contractors in Davao Occidental, most are under) DISEM Construction,” de Mesa said.
Three of the alleged ghost projects in the area are named under the contractor DISEM Construction and Supply, based on the DA’s report.
De Mesa said the FMR projects in question are worth about PHP105 million, supposedly completed between 2021 and 2023, but with no actual completion yet.
In total, close to 3,000 out of the 4,700 FMR projects have already been validated as completed.
The DA, meanwhile, assured stringent monitoring of the country’s FMR projects as it secured a joint administrative order (JAO) with the DPWH to ensure proper implementation.
“May na-monitor kasi kami, may nakita kaming DPWH lang ‘yung pumipirma kaya nababayaran agad, hindi hinihintay ‘yung DA (We monitored and found cases where only the DPWH signed, which allowed payments to be made immediately without waiting for the DA).”
Under the JAO, FMR projects should not be paid in full unless a joint monitoring by both the DA and DPWH has been completed. — Stephanie Sevillano (PNA)
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Credit belongs to: www.pna.gov.ph
