DA orders probe into farm input anomalies

February 19, 2026 | 12:00am

Rigged bidding?

MANILA, Philippines —  The Department of Agriculture (DA) has ordered an investigation into the procurement and distribution of farm inputs and machinery after farmers exposed alleged multibillion-peso irregularities.

“We invite these farmers’ groups and other organizations to help us ferret out the corrupt within our midst. We cannot allow these taxpayers’ funds to be squandered,” Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said yesterday.

The move follows complaints from the Federation of Free Farmers (FFF) and the Magsasaka party-list that “a few high-ranking DA officials and their political backers who control the funding decisions” determine bidding results.

They pointed to fugitive former lawmaker Zaldy Co, who previously chaired the House committee on appropriations, as being involved in these alleged anomalies.

The groups also said technical specifications were designed to favor pre-selected suppliers, and other bidders would be disqualified unless they agreed to pay “hefty commissions to concerned DA representatives.”

One case, they said, involves a company that allegedly supplied a large portion of hybrid rice seed requirements under the National Rice Program.

The same company is said to have secured multibillion-peso contracts to deliver tractors, rice mills and other farm equipment to the DA’s Philippine Center for Postharvest Development and Mechanization (PhilMech).

FFF chairman Leonardo Montemayor and MPL president Argel Joseph Cabatbat stressed that minimal to no consultation was conducted with farmers and other stakeholders.

Under the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Program Fund, PhilMech managed P5 billion annually over the past six years.

“There are multiple claims of beneficiaries receiving substandard seeds, wrong fertilizer grades and bad-performing farm machinery,” Montemayor and Cabatbat said in a joint letter to Tiu Laurel.

“A growing number of rice mills/processing systems have become white elephants because the recipients thereof, including local governments, have little operating capital or lack management skills,” they added.

PhilMech, meanwhile, strongly rejected the accusations, noting that all procurements followed competitive public bidding and complied with government laws and auditing rules.

According to Tiu Laurel, the DA looked into similar complaints from farmers’ groups last year, which led to the imposition of penalties.

The agency has also reaffirmed its commitment to zero tolerance for inefficiency or abuse, particularly in the use of agricultural funds.

For 2026, the agriculture sector has an approved budget of close to P300 billion.

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