Senator Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan on Friday, January 9 cited the necessity of making sure that farmers and consumers would feel the increase in the Department of Agriculture’s (DA) budget for 2026.

Pangilinan pointed this out after the DA assured taxpayers of better service now that it is taking over the task of building farm-to-market roads (FMR) that is previously handled by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).

DA Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said that the cost of FMRs may be reduced by about 20 percent, as roads once built at a cost of P18-million per kilometer may be actually constructed at only P14.5-million per kilometer.

“The promise is measurable: to reduce the cost of building farm-to-market roads by 20 percent (from about ₱18 million per kilometer to about ₱14.5 million). Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. has mentioned his name, and so has the President,” Pangilinan said in a statement.

“That is why the ₱33-billion FMR allocation in the 2026 national budget needs to be used to build more roads. Farmers and consumers need to feel the increased budget for agriculture. Farmers’ incomes need to increase and commodities in the market and talipapa need to be affordable,” he said.

After last year’s flood-control scandal, Pangilinan noted that people’s patience for corruption has run out.

As vice chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance, and who defended the budgets of the DA, National Irrigation Authority (NIA) and parts of the justice sector, Pangilinan said his name is also at stake in the smooth implementation of government infrastructure projects.

“Therefore, so that there are no more billion-peso insertions and overpriced contracts paid for by the people's taxes, we have included safeguards in the 2026 national budget: validation against the DA master plan, geo-tagged projects, and public monitoring tools,” the senator said.

“I call on all ordinary citizens, civil society groups, non-government orgs: Just as you helped in the budget process, participate and partner in the formation of a public-private audit coordinating task force that will monitor and ensure grassroots reporting on the implementation of such projects,” he stressed.

Pangilinan, chairman of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Food and Agrarian Reform, said that under his watch, he will not tolerate kickbacks or commissions.

“This people power warns all contractors and politicians with evil intentions: Together with the people, we will be on guard,” he said.

“And to anyone who does or attempts to do anything foolish here, I will hunt you down, summon you to Senate hearings, and expose the corruption. We will not tolerate kickbacks, kickbacks, or commissions,” he stressed.