SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE 
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REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES 
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First Regular Session 
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SENATE 
S. No. 8 1 3
’16 JUL 21 
P 2.26
a i
Introduced by Senator Ralph G. Recto
AN ACT
PROVIDING FOR THE FAIR AND EQUITABLE ALLOCATION OF FARM-TO- 
MARKET ROADS PROJECTS OF THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Explanatory Note
Farm-to-market roads offer distinct advantages to the agricultural sector. One, it improves 
farmers profit, reduces transportation costs and post-harvest losses and introduees competition 
among traders and suppliers alike. Second, it provides access to social services and agricultural 
support services, which in turn improves productivity of farni workers and enhanees agrieultural 
efficiency.
Farm-to-market roads also serve other developmental roles in the countryside. In an Asian 
Development Bank (ADB) study on the effectiveness of poverty reduction interventions on agrarian 
reform eommunities in the Philippines, it was observed that rural infrastructure -  roads, in particular 
-  has the strongest impact on poverty1. Rural road development can lead to influx of micro and 
small investments, short-term employment, enhancement of quality and frequency of public 
transportation, and improved access to medical, health, and other social services. As former 
National Economic Development Authority Director General Arsenio Balisacan argued, 
“investment in land quality and in access to infrastructure, together with sound fundamentals (i.e., 
fiscal and monetary restraint), are critical to the building of initial conditions for broad-based 
growth and development2.”
In 2016, P7.38 billion was appropriated under the budget of the Department of Agriculture 
(DA) for farm-to-market road projects. However, such appropriations came with no institutionalized 
mechanism to ensure equitable distribution of government appropriations for farm-to-market roads. 
This situation renders the allocation of farm-to-market roads vulnerable to exploitation by 
unscrupulous individuals who seek to further their own personal and political interests.
This bill seeks to make countryside development inclusive through fair and equitable 
distribution of government resources. It establishes a formula for the allocation of farm-to-market 
road appropriations, taking into aeeount the exigencies of factors such as land area and population. 
Additionally, it penalizes willful misallocation of farm-to-market road appropriations with 
incarceration and perpetual disqualification to hold public office. Through the imposition of criteria 
for farm-to-market roads allocation, this bill seeks to ensure that no locality shall be left behind.
In light of this, the approval of this bill is earnestly so
/n!<h{
Setboonsamg, S. (2008 June). The Impact of Rural Infrastructure and AgriculKiral ^pport Services on Poverty: The 
Case of Agrarian Reform Communities in the Philippines. ADB Institute Discussion Paper No. 110. Tokyo: Asian 
Development Bank Institute.
2 Balisacan, A. M. (2001 February). Pathways of Poverty Reduction, Rural Development and Transmission Mechanisms 
in the Philippines. Paper presented at the Asia and Pacific Forum on Poverty: Reforming Policies and Institutions for 
Poverty Reduction. Manila, Philippines.