DA unit seen lacking powers to enforce compliance in farm infra

By Vonn Andrei E. Villamiel, reporter

QUESTIONS have been raised about the Department of Agriculture’s (DA) new oversight unit for agricultural infrastructure, which analysts said could lack the authority or resources to ensure that works undertaken by the DA are compliant and scandal-free.

The interim Social and Environmental Safeguards (SES) Unit, formed under Department Order 22, is tasked with integrating environmental and social standards into all DA infrastructure projects after the department takes over farm-to-market road (FMR) projects next year from the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).

Jesus Enrique A. Africa, executive director of think tank IBON Foundation, told BusinessWorld that the new SES unit risks becoming ineffective without adequate funding and clearer accountability mechanisms.

“Design-wise, the proposal seems well-intentioned but is actually structurally weak with some substantial gaps. Funding is uncertain and likely going to be insufficient. Funding being charged to ‘available funds’ is a red flag be-cause this means no dedicated new budget line, no new staffing positions, and no boost in MOOE (maintenance and other operating expenses) budgets,” he said via Viber.

He added that the SES has no enforcement powers to suspend projects, require design changes or impose sanctions.

“An underfunded unit with no enforcement powers that can’t even mobilize public pressure strongly risks irrelevance and being a mere paper mill,” he said.

Roehlano M. Briones, senior research fellow at the state think tank Philippine Institute for Development Studies, also raised concerns about compliance.

“The risk of non-compliance is there … Best we can hope for is that the opinion of the SES is taken seriously by top management so that the entire rank and file will do their best for compliance,” Mr. Briones told BusinessWorld via Viber.

Mr. Africa also cautioned that the effectiveness of the SES will be influenced by broader accountability across government.

“Unless the government holds probably hundreds of lawmakers and perhaps thousands of line agency officials accountable, selective prosecution will continue to undermine even the best-designed technical reforms. Procedural fixes will always fail in a system where impunity remains the rule,” he said.

The SES will conduct environmental assessments, review social risks, and work with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples, and development partners.

The DA touts the SES as a “watchdog” that will strengthen transparency and safeguard standards in agriculture-related infrastructure, following recent scandals involving infrastructure projects.

“The recent controversy surrounding flood control projects underscores why we need a strong safeguards system. This watchdog unit ensures that every DA project is transparent, accountable, and fully aligned with environ-mental and social standards,” Agriculture Secretary Francisco P. Tiu Laurel, Jr. has said.

Former Agriculture Secretary William D. Dar told BusinessWorld that the SES unit will improve the implementation of the agency’s FMR program.

“Overall, it will increase transparency and reduce corruption in the process. This will give the opportunity for DA to be guided by its formulated National Network of FMR Plan,” he said via Viber.

The DA’s national FMR roadmap identifies the need for 131,000 kilometers of rural roads, more than 60,000 kilometers of which remain unbuilt. The DA said the FMRs are needed to lower transport costs and reduce post-harvest losses.

Former Agriculture Undersecretary Fermin D. Adriano told BusinessWorld via Viber that the unit must operate closer where the projects are being executed, with full participation by stakeholders.

“It is better to organize an infrastructure monitoring group at the provincial level where key local government officials, where the project is being implemented, are part of the group.”

He said the private sector, civil society organizations and sectoral representatives should also serve as members of the monitoring group to discuss the progress of infrastructure projects.

Mr. Adriano said such a model will be more transparent and inclusive and will also help address right-of-way issues and extortion by local government officials, among other issues.

Speaking on The Big Story program on One News, Mr. Laurel said the DA will enlist farmers themselves to keep watch on projects.

“We’ll have memoranda of understanding with farmers’ cooperatives and organizations. We’ll have a farm-to-market website portal with an FMR watch system. We already have a software; it’s just a matter of us doing it properly with the help of government agencies and the public,” he said.

Meanwhile, analysts welcomed the DA takeover of FMR projects, but cautioned the agency might face challenges due to a lack of technical capacity.

“The DA’s takeover of FMR construction from the DPWH appears sensible because the DA is closer to farmers and understands agricultural needs better, while the DPWH likely treated FMRs as generic roadworks,” Mr. Africa said.

Mr. Adriano also said the DA takeover will follow an FMR masterplan, unlike the current practice, where legislators “are the ones dictating where they will be constructed.”

In his One News appearance, Mr. Laurel acknowledged the political pressures accompanying FMR allocation. “The reality is that every mayor and congressman has parochial interests, and even senators who won in a particular area want farm roads built for the communities that voted for them,” he said.

Mr. Laurel said the takeover will allow the DA to set priorities in light of its limited budget, with 2026 funding expected to cover only 2,000 of the 60,000 kilometers of FMRs needed.

While the DA has some engineering expertise in the Bureau of Agriculture and Fisheries Engineering, analysts said more capacity is needed.

“The DA will have to hire many civil engineers to supervise and monitor FMR construction because it does not have that capability,” Mr. Adriano said.

Mr. Africa also said the DA would need to first develop technical experience in engineering, procurement, screening contractors and field inspections.