# House Committee on Appropriations: DA and NIA Part 1 - September 1, 2026 — Source-Linked Digest

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jIE6A5NSc_I

AI-assisted working draft. AI can make errors. Always verify consequential interpretations and wording against the cited transcript and official video.

## At a glance

- **FY 2027 food-security and irrigation case:** DA presented food security, farmer and fisherfolk livelihoods, productivity, logistics, resilience and accountability as the case for its FY 2027 request. NIA paired its development, repair and climate-adaptation agenda with a national irrigation coverage gap, but said the NEP allocation was far below its proposed budget.

- **Irrigation funding, selection and flexibility:** Across multiple regional rounds, members challenged low or zero allocations, delayed repairs and the basis for project priorities. NIA repeatedly cited limited fiscal space and ongoing Tier 1 commitments, while asking to return to a program-based appropriation structure that could redirect funds from delayed projects to validated, implementation-ready work with oversight.

- **Farm roads, post-harvest systems and disclosure:** Members described a large farm-to-market-road backlog, missing access roads, delayed releases, high per-kilometre costs and questions about project coordinates and unusually large projects. DA linked roads, cold storage, processing, fish ports and logistics to lower losses and better market access, and undertook to provide project reports and coordinate on identified entries.

- **Livestock, biosecurity and import dependence:** The discussion connected ASF, delayed indemnification, vaccine access, animal repopulation, dairy and carabao distribution, pest response and import controls to farmgate prices and domestic supply. DA officials described proposed tariff and animal-industry measures, while several promised animal deliveries and local interventions remained conditional, delayed or subject to further follow-up.

- **Regional commodity programs and agency follow-through:** Members sought support for abaca, coconut, palm oil, banana, sugar, high-value crops, fisheries and aquaculture, often pairing local project requests with questions about agency execution. Officials expressed support for selected proposals, studies, coordination and future requests, but many funding levels, legislation, procurement actions and local allocations remained unresolved. The frozen hearing ends with a short health-break suspension.

Reading note: Based on the 29 frozen, accepted source-linked digest units for Hearing 23 at review revision 249. Figures, allegations, policy positions, requests and intended actions remain attributed to the speakers. The overview distinguishes requests, plans, studies, coordination and conditional delivery commitments from completed measures; it does not reconcile malformed transcript figures or fill gaps with outside facts.

## Budget proposal and requests

### DA and NIA FY 2027 proposals versus NEP amounts

DA and its attached corporations presented a PHP 260-billion FY 2027 proposal against about PHP 198.4 billion in the NEP; the opening stated PHP 198.45 billion. NIA separately presented a PHP 233.85-billion FY 2027 proposal against a PHP 47.43-billion NEP total. Neither presentation passage separately establishes an earlier original submission to DBM. Presiding Rep. Jose "Bong" J. Teves Jr. gave PHP 46.36 billion as NIA budgetary support, a differently scoped or conflicting figure, while also uttering the same amount as DA budgetary support. DA and NIA totals must remain separate; the broader agriculture-sector figure is not an additional agency request. A separate presenter utterance says PHP 298.4 billion despite the PHP 198.4 billion total and stated reduction; that conflicting utterance is not used as a reconciled NEP figure.

[00:45:34 · asr-000103](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/23/#asr-000103) · [00:47:05 · asr-000119](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/23/#asr-000119) · [01:26:44 · asr-000653](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/23/#asr-000653) · [01:27:44 · asr-000660](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/23/#asr-000660) · [01:28:15 · asr-000663](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/23/#asr-000663) · [01:46:31 · asr-000948](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/23/#asr-000948) · [01:47:10 · asr-000958](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/23/#asr-000958)

### Irrigation, roads and crop-program increases

NIA Administrator Eduardo "Eddie" G. Guillen asked the House to increase its 2027 irrigation budget after contrasting PHP 233.85 billion requested with PHP 47.43 billion in the NEP. Rep. Arlene "Kaka" J. Bag-ao supported more DA and irrigation funding. DA Secretary Francisco P. Tiu Laurel Jr. sought a PHP 500-million palm-oil addition for 2027, with a larger annual idea conditional on legislation. DA Undersecretary for Agro-Marine Industrial Systems Arrey A. Perez asked for PHP 30 billion more for farm-to-market roads; Rep. Rufus B. Rodriguez said he approved the request, but no formal budget-increase motion or committee vote followed. DA Undersecretary Cheryl Marie Natividad-Caballero asked for at least PHP 8 billion more for high-value crops above a stated PHP 1.7-billion current level.

[01:55:50 · asr-001136](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/23/#asr-001136) · [02:33:25 · asr-001773](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/23/#asr-001773) · [03:22:29 · asr-002836](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/23/#asr-002836) · [05:24:15 · asr-005533](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/23/#asr-005533) · [05:25:01 · asr-005539](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/23/#asr-005539) · [05:25:14 · asr-005542](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/23/#asr-005542) · [05:29:04 · asr-005600](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/23/#asr-005600)

### Post-harvest and other funding discussions

DA Undersecretary Roger V. Navarro urged higher post-harvest funding, discussing a PHP 6.5-billion NFA proposal and possible doubling or a 50-percent increase without a settled common scope. The fertilizer comparison of PHP 8.7 billion and PHP 30 billion had unclear attribution. Rep. Audrey Kay T. Zubiri recalled an earlier unsuccessful SRA increase effort; SRA said only PHP 1 billion was provided and described an internal transfer to emergency response, not new funding. Rep. Nicanor M. Briones asked about border inspection facilities; DA cited 2026 funding for three sites and possible future IDCA support. No new appropriation was adopted in these exchanges.

[05:26:05 · asr-005555](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/23/#asr-005555) · [05:26:25 · asr-005561](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/23/#asr-005561) · [05:27:05 · asr-005574](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/23/#asr-005574) · [05:27:45 · asr-005584](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/23/#asr-005584) · [06:52:18 · asr-007011](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/23/#asr-007011) · [06:52:59 · asr-007019](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/23/#asr-007019) · [06:53:18 · asr-007022](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/23/#asr-007022) · [07:08:50 · asr-007222](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/23/#asr-007222) · [07:09:19 · asr-007226](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/23/#asr-007226)

## Department of Agriculture and National Irrigation Administration

### Food security and producer livelihoods as the budget test

DA Secretary Francisco P. Tiu Laurel Jr. said the FY 2027 request must deliver both sufficient, safe, nutritious and affordable food and a decent, sustainable livelihood for farmers and fisherfolk. He linked the request to productivity, farm and fishery infrastructure, lower post-harvest losses, logistics and market access, appropriate technology, stronger value chains, climate resilience, monitoring and accountability.

[00:58:37 · asr-000249](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/23/#asr-000249)

### Agricultural conditions and production bottlenecks

Undersecretary Asis G. Perez reported 3.1% agriculture, forestry and fisheries gross-value-added growth in 2025 after a 1.5% contraction in 2024, while the sector’s share of the economy was 7.9%. He cited 10.44 million people in the RSBSA as of July 15, 2026, an ageing producer base, small and fragmented farms, and persistent poverty among farmers and fisherfolk. The presentation identified shrinking agricultural land, inadequate irrigation, low soil productivity, high input costs, low mechanization and climate exposure as linked constraints. It said about 2.2 million of 3.13 million irrigable hectares were served, leaving roughly 29.75% still needing irrigation; 82% of rice and corn areas had low-to-moderate soil productivity.

[01:05:04 · asr-000342](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/23/#asr-000342)

### Infrastructure, logistics and legislative reform agenda

Perez described small-scale irrigation and canal work that created more than 21,400 hectares of new service area and restored more than 3,600 hectares, alongside expanded soil-health laboratory capacity. He argued for investment in drying, milling, storage, processing, roads, ports, cold-chain facilities and ice plants to reduce post-harvest and logistics losses. The presentation reported a US$11.12 billion agricultural trade deficit in 2025, said exports remain concentrated in a few commodities, and presented livestock and poultry self-sufficiency under the Animal Industry Reform Law as part of reducing import dependence. It also asked Congress to pair budget support with agriculture-extension and other structural reforms, with enhanced productivity, increased income and poverty reduction as the stated key result areas.

[01:12:56 · asr-000487](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/23/#asr-000487)

### DA FY 2027 NEP: lower sector allocation and program mix

Undersecretary Nora C. Oliveros said the agriculture-sector budget covers the DA, the National Irrigation Administration and attached government corporations. She reported a PHP 198.4-billion FY 2027 DA NEP figure, PHP 17.2 billion below the 2026 GAA comparison, against a PHP 260-billion DA proposal. In the same passage she also uttered PHP 298.4 billion, which conflicts with PHP 198.4 billion and the stated roughly PHP 62-billion proposal-to-NEP reduction; the transcript does not reconcile that utterance. The presentation attributed the reduction chiefly to operations rather than administrative support, described declining budgets for most attached agencies, and listed seven DA banner programs: rice, livestock, corn, high-value crops, organic agriculture, halal, and urban and peri-urban agriculture. It said organic agriculture had a slight increase while the other banner programs declined.

[01:26:33 · asr-000652](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/23/#asr-000652)

### DA projects proposed for 2027

Oliveros said several locally funded projects had been mainstreamed into regular DA programs, including farm-to-market roads, climate-resilience and soil-health initiatives. She identified continuing or proposed work on cold-storage expansion, upland irrigation, farmers’ and fisherfolk development, animal industry development and competitiveness, coffee and export-crop development, biosecurity enforcement, assistance to farmers and fisherfolk, agri-food hubs, the Rice for All program, fisheries projects, salt-industry and water-treatment initiatives, organic fertilizer and dairy development. The foreign-assisted portfolio included the Mindanao Inclusive Agricultural Development Project, Philippine Rural Development Project SCALE-UP, a French-funded Farm-to-Market Bridges Development Program with PHP 1 billion provided for 2027, the World Bank-funded Philippine Fisheries and Coastal Resiliency Project, and community-based dairy enterprise work. She closed by saying DA was ready for questions and clarification.

[01:35:22 · asr-000771](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/23/#asr-000771)

### NIA strategy and remaining irrigation coverage

NIA Administrator Eduardo Eddie G. Guillen presented a seven-point agenda covering irrigation infrastructure, irrigators’ association capacity, climate-smart farming, management and governance, monitoring and evaluation, human-resource capability and strategic communication. He described the 2020–2030 National Irrigation Master Plan as the planning framework and said a revised assessment expanded potential irrigable area by more than 4 million hectares nationwide. As of December 31, 2025, the presentation placed developed irrigation at 2.2 million hectares out of an estimated 3.13 million hectares, or 70.25%, with about 1 million hectares remaining; 1.79 million hectares, or 82% of developed area, were under NIA-assisted systems. He said the remaining areas require larger, targeted investment.

[01:41:22 · asr-000861](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/23/#asr-000861)

### NIA FY 2027 funding gap and irrigation investment plan

Guillen said NIA proposed PHP 233.85 billion for FY 2027 but the NEP provided PHP 47.43 billion, below the PHP 65 billion 2026 budget cited in the presentation. He separately compared PHP 211.01 billion proposed for operations with PHP 30.44 billion in the NEP, and PHP 219 billion proposed for capital outlay with PHP 33 billion in the NEP. Operations is a program category and capital outlay an expense class, so those amounts overlap and must not be added to each other or the agency total. The agency sought climate-adaptation works, service roads, repair and restoration of national, communal and pump systems, and new national and small-reservoir irrigation systems. It cited targets of 32.79 kilometres of gravel service road and 1.3 kilometres of concrete road; restoration of about 2,243 hectares; and 1,226 hectares of new areas under system development. The NEP also included PHP 7.92 billion for pump irrigation, PHP 4.58 billion for special irrigation, PHP 200 million for extensions and PHP 698 million for CARP-IC, which the presentation said could create 4,160 hectares of new irrigated area and restore 531 hectares. Guillen asked the House to increase NIA’s budget to advance development, rehabilitation, climate resilience and food security.

[01:46:31 · asr-000948](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/23/#asr-000948)

## Opening priorities and preliminary floor procedure

### Chair's budget priorities for agriculture and irrigation

After attendance and the introduction of Department of Agriculture (DA) and National Irrigation Administration (NIA) resource persons, Presiding Rep. Jose "Bong" J. Teves Jr. framed the hearing around raising local production, improving farmers' and fisherfolk's incomes, and getting assistance to producers at the right place and time. He cited a proposed FY 2027 National Expenditure Program (NEP) allocation of P198.45 billion for the DA and its attached corporations, and P46.36 billion in budgetary support; he then cited the same P46.36 billion in proposed budgetary support for NIA, leaving the DA-versus-NIA attribution unresolved in the opening. He described a value-chain approach linking land, water, credit, mechanized production, postharvest facilities, logistics, market matching, and returns to producers. The Chair named the P16 billion Farm-to-Market Road Program and the P250 million KADIWA program, along with cold storage, consolidation, and digital market information, as measures intended to reduce transport costs and spoilage, improve farm-gate prices, and connect producers to reliable buyers. For irrigation, he said 2.20 million hectares had been developed from 3.13 million hectares of potential irrigable area, and called for irrigation development alongside rehabilitation, climate adaptation, service roads, coordinated DA plans, affordable credit, mechanization, and integrated delivery of equipment, training, insurance, and market access. He said the committee would seek clear targets, operational irrigation, lower postharvest losses, market coordination, and a direct local-farmer voice in planning and implementation.

[00:44:47 · asr-000095](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/23/#asr-000095)

### Time limit for the joint DA and NIA hearing

Rep. Rufus Rodriguez asked whether the DA and NIA would be heard successively or together, and whether members would receive 10 minutes. The Chair initially responded, "Joined in 10 minutes. Five minutes each," then clarified that the rule was five minutes for the joint NIA-DA hearing. Rodriguez said five minutes would be insufficient for two large agencies with separate budgets, particularly given his NIA concerns. The Chair said the committee would be flexible if a member ran beyond five minutes, while maintaining that the rule was five minutes; he also pointed members to a DA consultation on Thursday, September 3 for their concerns. Rep. Marlo Bancoro joined Rodriguez's manifestation, saying he had many concerns, especially about NIA.

[00:52:09 · asr-000171](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/23/#asr-000171)

## Vice Chair Bondoc's welcome and handoff to the DA presentation

### Vice Chair's remote welcome

Vice Chair Rep. Anna York P. Bondoc, M.D. welcomed participants to the consultation and budget presentation for the Department of Agriculture's 2027 budget. She said she could not attend in person because of severe, persistent flooding in Central Luzon, Pampanga, particularly in her district, and described traffic disruption there. Bondoc thanked DA Secretary Francisco P. Tiu Laurel Jr. and the DA family, recognized NIA Administrator Eduardo "Eddie" Guillen, and thanked colleagues who would take over for her that day, including Rep. Joseph Tan, Vice Chair Teves and Vice Chair Christopher Gua.

[00:55:44 · asr-000221](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/23/#asr-000221)

### Priorities for the consultation and handoff to DA

Bondoc said the consultation would address food security, stable food prices, farmers' welfare and support for the economy. She highlighted flood recovery in Central Luzon and climate-change challenges affecting agriculture, and said the DA and NIA would welcome concerns and try to address them. She closed by expressing hope for support for the 2027 budgets of the DA and NIA. Chair Teves then handed the floor to Secretary Laurel to begin the DA presentation.

[00:57:13 · asr-000235](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/23/#asr-000235)

## Rep. Sarah Jane I. Elago

### Disaster response and direct support for affected producers

Rep. Sarah Jane Elago cited an estimated P2.5 billion in agricultural damage from the habagat and successive storms, alongside the DA presentation's reported P114 billion in damage and losses from 2024 to the present affecting nearly 3 million farmers and fisherfolk. She asked how a substantially reduced 2027 DA budget would affect immediate aid. Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said the government had assigned immediate food and shelter to DSWD, rehabilitation to DOLE, and DA support to its Quick Response Fund (QRF); he said DBM had been instructed to avoid a long wait before QRF release. He said the QRF would support replanting, seeds, and fertilizer, while the department was working to shorten PCIC indemnity payments and make SURE loans available. He also cited an allocated amount from DOLE for limited TUPAD support to fishers unable to go to sea, and P6.7 billion for the El Niño response and fuel issue, divided between fuel and transport subsidies. Pressed for direct production subsidies rather than more loans, he described a proposed 2027 package of about P10 billion, partly under presidential assistance for farmers and fisherfolk, plus replenishable QRF. Elago replied that presidential assistance was insufficient and pointed to House proposals of P80,000 per farmer per cropping season and P30,000 to P40,000 per fisher; she urged the DA itself to seek direct subsidies.

[01:58:23 · asr-001181](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/23/#asr-001181)

### Storage, logistics, and farmers' unsold produce

Elago asked how many documented cases the DA had of farmers throwing away, destroying, or abandoning crops because buyers were absent, prices were too low, storage was inadequate, or logistics had become costly with higher fuel prices; she also asked what mechanism could absorb those products. Tiu Laurel acknowledged weak market sales during the habagat, including for high-value crops from Benguet. He said the DA had decided earlier in the year to build five mega cold-storage and processing centers on Benguet State University land, with a 15-day buffer-stock and processing function for excess production. He also cited a Clark food hub to be bid in September using P2 billion in 2026 funding and a P500 million mega cold-storage facility at FTI in Taguig, describing them as part of a high-value-crops network meant to buffer production swings, weather disruptions, and market instability. Elago asked the DA to submit a report on strengthening the food logistics chain and renewed a call for the department to lead advocacy for removing VAT and excise tax on oil, citing producers' fuel needs.

[02:02:39 · asr-001256](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/23/#asr-001256)

### Import dependence, rice supply, and investment in local production

Elago warned that the Philippines remained the world's leading rice importer and asked how the DA would protect food security amid climate emergencies, wars, and possible disruption of global rice supplies. Tiu Laurel said the department's goal was to reduce import dependence through more irrigation of flatlands, continued development of inbred and locally produced hybrid seeds, and improving yield per hectare. He said the country was secure in rice requirements through the end of 2026, attributing that position in part to 3.8 million tons of imports as of the prior week under a liberalized system, while saying the harvest season had begun and, despite about 60,000 hectares being hit as of the preceding day, the harvest should carry the country through year-end. Elago broadened the concern to other commodities, citing increases in import dependence between 1990 and 2022 for rice, corn, beef, pork, chicken, and galunggong. She argued that budget cuts to the national rice and corn programs conflicted with the stated aim of strengthening local agriculture and reversing agricultural liberalization; no further DA response to that budget challenge appears in this exchange.

[02:05:24 · asr-001286](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/23/#asr-001286)

### Pax Silica assessment and geofencing of productive agricultural land

Elago asked whether the DA had assessed the Pax Silica Initiative's effects on agricultural land, citing reports that 15,000 farmers and up to 20,000 Aeta people could lose land, livelihoods, and ancestral lands. Tiu Laurel said the assessment was still under way and that his initial understanding was that the directly affected number would be lower, referring to a Clark-area figure of 1,600 without stating its unit; he said he could not give the full agricultural effects until the study was released. He said the DA did not issue the agricultural-land reclassification clearance as he understood it, identifying the Clark Development Authority as the reclassifying body, and committed to complete the assessment in about 30 days. Elago asked that it be finished before plenary deliberation of the DA budget. She then asked about the DA's announced geofencing program amid solar projects expanding onto agricultural land. Tiu Laurel said it would use digitalization and program funds, not require much funding, and would identify and protect 3 million hectares of flat rice land, as well as onion, corn, sugar, and other crop lands; land outside those areas could be considered for solar or other uses subject to slope, soil type, and water-moisture considerations. Elago requested the plan and timeline for committee submission, welcomed the step but called for stricter land-use-conversion rules and stronger protection of prime agricultural land. At the Chair's direction, Tiu Laurel said the DA would submit the requested materials and try to complete geofencing by year-end.

[02:08:49 · asr-001321](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/23/#asr-001321)

## Rep. Adrian Michael A. Amatong

### NIA allocation disparity and the demand for an explanation

Rep. Adrian Michael A. Amatong said his district had received zero in each of two earlier years, about 40 in the preceding year, and only P7 million in the current allocation despite what he described as the region's largest irrigable land. He asked NIA to explain the allocation method. Administrator Eduardo Eddie G. Guillen said NIA's request of roughly P200 billion to almost P250 billion had been reduced to P46 billion because of fiscal limits, while personnel, operations, electricity and pump fuel, and contractual obligations for ongoing projects also had to be funded. Guillen later said the district's proposal was P790 million and that ongoing projects are normally prioritized, but did not give a district-by-district explanation in this exchange. Amatong challenged the result, saying roughly 506 had been approved in his district while his share was 7, compared with 29 for Rep. Bancoro and more than 400 for Del Sur; he repeated that the question was why a smaller area received more than 400 while his received 7.

[02:15:38 · asr-001527](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/23/#asr-001527)

### NIA questioning deferred after accountability dispute

Amatong asked that the NIA budget be deferred, saying members had many questions because the administrator was not being accountable. The hearing was then suspended and resumed. Deputy Speaker Janette L. Garin said Amatong had agreed to let other listed members proceed without prejudice to resuming his NIA questions later; Amatong then confirmed that the NIA discussion would continue later because, in his view, his question had not been answered. The source records no resolution of the allocation dispute in this unit.

[02:21:52 · asr-001590](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/23/#asr-001590) · [02:22:12 · asr-001595](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/23/#asr-001595) · [02:23:10 · asr-001602](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/23/#asr-001602) · [02:23:37 · asr-001607](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/23/#asr-001607)

### BFAR field visit and aquaculture procurement commitment

Amatong turned to BFAR, describing Region 9 as a fishing region and saying that, after he and his mayors sought concrete plans in January, Director Elizer S. Salilig had discussed possible interventions and a visit that had still not happened nearly a year later. Salilig said the allocation was ready for pickup and explained that a sustainable solar-powered integrated aquaculture farming intervention was awaiting authority to procure, although DBM approval was already in place. He said at least P500 million was available for the program and hoped procurement would be completed in October. After Amatong raised the hardship of farmers and fisherfolk, DA Secretary Francisco P. Tiu Laurel Jr. stated that the director would be in Amatong's area the following week.

[02:23:43 · asr-001608](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/23/#asr-001608)

### Abaca seedlings and coconut support

Amatong said that promised seedlings for planned abaca intercropping had not yet arrived. The DA secretary said the regional director would also be sent the following week and appeared to say seedlings would be provided. Amatong separately acknowledged Philippine Coconut Authority assistance but said his area was the second largest in coconut plantings and needed more help because its farmers were ready to produce more.

[02:26:27 · asr-001636](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/23/#asr-001636)

### Request for delivery on provincial and farm-to-market needs

Amatong said budget hearings prompt agencies to act and asked rhetorically whether they could be held monthly. He urged agencies to help his province while its governor and mayors were active, objected to farm-to-market road allocations that he said favored urban areas over his large district, and reserved NIA questions for a later exchange. He closed by saying constituents would not be lifted from poverty by promises and that agency heads had to deliver.

[02:27:11 · asr-001641](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/23/#asr-001641)

## Rep. Arlene "Kaka" J. Bag-ao

### Request for one 2027 irrigation total and coverage breakdown

Rep. Arlene "Kaka" J. Bag-ao asked for the total 2027 funding dedicated to irrigation across DA and NIA programs, including solar-powered irrigation and other irrigation lines, and said a full report could be supplied rather than an immediate answer. DA Secretary Francisco P. Tiu Laurel Jr. identified P1.6 billion for DA solar-powered irrigation but did not provide the requested consolidated total. Bag-ao also asked how much of the 2027 budget would address the remaining 30% of land she said NIA's presentation identified as still needing irrigation, distinguishing new irrigation from the substantial rehabilitation allocation.

[02:31:09 · asr-001705](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/23/#asr-001705)

### Irrigation as an El Niño and drought response

Bag-ao linked the request to an El Niño expected in 2027 and to drought declarations, including in her province and Dinagat. She argued that the response should not be limited to aid, but should also repair irrigation while there was time. Laurel said the El Niño plan included development, repair, and installation of new solar-powered irrigation systems, and asked NIA to explain the 30% and its funding breakdown. NIA Administrator Eduardo Eddie G. Guillen said NIA had identified El Niño-vulnerable areas, but did not provide a figure at the hearing; he said the agency would check its data. Bag-ao asked for the requested numbers and documents that day so members could consolidate them before plenary, and Guillen agreed.

[02:32:16 · asr-001739](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/23/#asr-001739)

### Farm-to-market road cut and 2027 requirements

Bag-ao asked how DA would address cuts to machinery, equipment, facilities, and infrastructure, citing a P17 billion reduction. Laurel clarified that the P17 billion cut was in farm-to-market roads (FMR), while agricultural mechanization had not been substantially cut and would continue. He said restoring FMR funding would be preferable because farmers and fisherfolk consistently requested it to reduce transport costs and support local economies. Bag-ao asked DA for even a one-page estimate of what could immediately meet its 2027 requirement, noting that other allocations, including debt repayment, might possibly be considered for FMR; Laurel agreed.

[02:36:01 · asr-001845](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/23/#asr-001845)

## Rep. Julius Cesar "Jay" V. Vergara

### Fertilizer support, delayed procurement and farmer choice

Rep. Julius Cesar "Jay" V. Vergara said the current GAA carried PHP 26.4 billion nationwide for National Rice Program production support services, including PHP 5.011 billion for Region III. He pressed for more dryers and said farmers needed a fertilizer grade rendered in the transcript as “46.00” rather than a product rendered as “25.00” he understood was being distributed late in the season. DA Secretary Francisco P. Tiu Laurel Jr. said two failed bids in Region III had delayed procurement and that a negotiated purchase was under way; he also cited disrupted global supply routes and limited availability of the fertilizer grade rendered as “4600”, with other variants and biofertilizer as options. Vergara urged distribution of urea because crop growth was already advanced. Laurel said most FY 2027 inorganic-fertilizer assistance would return to a QR-voucher system so farmers could choose and obtain inputs with fewer delays.

[02:39:35 · asr-001940](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/23/#asr-001940)

### Support for a local project awaiting design and national assistance

Vergara raised a locally named project whose title is unclear in the transcript, saying its design and needed national-government assistance remained outstanding and offering to provide the DA the material on what help was needed. Laurel agreed that the project should proceed promptly with local and national-government support and asked to see its requirements.

[02:44:34 · asr-002059](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/23/#asr-002059)

### Illegal quarrying and damage to irrigation siphons

Vergara said excessive quarrying had affected two irrigation districts in his province: one siphon had been repaired and another was under repair, while another was at risk. He asked for a joint task force against illegal quarrying, warning that a failure could affect 21,000 farmers; he also cited a separate disruption that left 37,000 hectares unable to plant until March 2026. NIA Administrator Eduardo Eddie G. Guillen said NIA had written to the DILG, PNP and DENR for a joint task force and sought controls on quarrying within about one kilometre upstream and downstream of dams. He said roughly PHP 45 million had been requested for repair or protection of the damaged siphon, pending approval of a budget modification.

[02:45:57 · asr-002075](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/23/#asr-002075)

### Water level, canal overflow and repair assurance

Vergara said the Pantabangan level was 194.5 metres that day, compared with 206 metres in December when he considered conditions safe, and asked DA and NIA for assurance that vulnerable irrigation works would be protected. He warned that failure could put 21,000 hectares at risk and raised a smaller siphon where a creek crossed an NIA canal and regularly overflowed. Guillen said NIA had identified funds near the at-risk siphon for repair, citing an earlier repair in Llanera, and said protection was necessary because about 30,000 hectares were at stake. The chair ended the exchange on time, noting that a second round remained.

[02:49:41 · asr-002113](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/23/#asr-002113) · [02:50:13 · asr-002129](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/23/#asr-002129) · [02:50:39 · asr-002142](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/23/#asr-002142) · [02:51:28 · asr-002165](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/23/#asr-002165) · [02:51:58 · asr-002181](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/23/#asr-002181)

## Rep. Elijah Rumbaoa San Fernando

### DA budget cap and possible additions during deliberations

Rep. Elijah Rumbaoa San Fernando questioned why the DA budget had been reduced despite food security being presented as a priority, and asked what the Development Budget Coordination Committee and Department of Budget and Management had said. Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said the proposed budget was constrained by the available fiscal space but could still receive additions. He said the DA had received P6.7 billion during the current year for transport and fuel subsidies and the El Niño response, and said he expected a further P10 billion for facilities to become more climate-resilient. For 2027, he said the budget could still be augmented during bicameral deliberations depending on needs advanced by Congress and the Senate.

[02:52:26 · asr-002195](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/23/#asr-002195)

### Unirrigated land and the basis for NIA project priorities

San Fernando asked how much potentially irrigable land remained unirrigated and how NIA decides where to put irrigation projects. Administrator Eduardo Eddie Guillen said the National Irrigation Master Plan identified 3.2 million hectares as potentially irrigable, with about 1 million hectares still unirrigated; he then said the Regional Irrigation Master Plan added another 1 million hectares, making 2 million hectares in total, and later gave an estimate of 30% still unirrigated under the national plan. He said the annual increase was 1.5%. Guillen said the national plan identifies land with up to a 3% slope and that the project-planning division uses weighted criteria. Project Planning Division Manager Robert Mark Revillame said 30% of the weighting is a project's contribution to irrigation development, with a project of around 10,000 hectares receiving about 22 points. He said the criteria also consider areas with less than 60% irrigation development, economic viability under fiscal constraints, development stage and feasibility work, inclusion in government planning, statutory requirements, geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas, and drought incidence.

[02:55:45 · asr-002286](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/23/#asr-002286)

### Funding limits, project accountability, and Agrarian Reform Fund records

San Fernando argued that irrigation gaps had persisted for decades and questioned why projects were built where water was lacking rather than where surplus water could be used. Guillen replied that NIA had requested more than P250 billion to greatly expand coverage but could fund only P46 billion because of fiscal limits; he said the proposed budget was mostly for ongoing Tier 1 projects, leaving little room for new projects. He described NIA's project test as 'right project, right price, right quality,' requiring people who want the project, a water source, sufficient land, and feasibility for the cost, with completed projects turned over to farmers for operation and maintenance. San Fernando then relayed the People's Budget Coalition's allegation of anomalous infrastructure insertions and insufficient public project documentation, and said farmers' reports differed from NIA's account. Guillen said NIA projects undergo technical validation, prioritization, costing, readiness assessment, DBM evaluation, procurement and audit requirements, engineering and regulatory review, and reporting to Congress; he said NIA had no cost or substandard projects to report and invited the House to inspect projects and speak with farmers. San Fernando asked for the list of NIA irrigation projects funded under the Agrarian Reform Fund and the applicable guidelines; Guillen committed to submit them.

[03:00:21 · asr-002429](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/23/#asr-002429)

### Farmer representation on the Coco Levy Fund committee

Turning back to the DA, San Fernando asked for the department's and Philippine Coconut Authority's position on a proposed amendment to Section 10 that would include coconut-farmer representatives on the Trust Fund Management Committee. He said coconut farmers wanted representation because, in his view, the Coco Levy Fund was their money entrusted to government, and he objected to the Department of Finance position he described as opposing their inclusion. Tiu Laurel said the DA regularly includes stakeholders, especially farmers, in its plans; he said the DA stood with farmers and that it would be better for them to be included.

[03:08:05 · asr-002551](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/23/#asr-002551)

## Rep. Marlo C. Bancoro

### Fish-port implementation and hatchery follow-through

Rep. Marlo C. Bancoro thanked DA Secretary Francisco P. Tiu Laurel Jr. for the FISPORT commitment, which he described as a three-year P150 million implementation, and sought assurance that it would not be interrupted because the next installment was needed for expansion. Laurel said it was already in the plan. Bancoro also thanked DA for the planned mega hatchery and invited Laurel to visit the proposed site.

[03:10:14 · asr-002583](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/23/#asr-002583)

### Farm-to-market roads: incomplete projects and conditional funding path

Bancoro said more than 200 farm-to-market roads had been validated in his agricultural province. Four had appeared in the previous NEP, but two were removed from the GAA; the two left in the 2026 budget had not been implemented because standard works did not cover swampy conditions. He said P15 million was insufficient for one kilometer and that an additional P18 million was needed to finish it. Laurel said DA had planned four projects on the assumption of more fiscal space, but its 2027 allocation was about half what it expected. He said DA would try to fill the kilometer's remaining gap from 2026 FMR projects that could no longer be implemented, such as sites washed out by flooding, and would coordinate with Bancoro. For the two dropped projects, Laurel said the practical route was to seek an increase in the DA's 2027 FMR budget in the final GAA; Bancoro said he would write formally to put the request on record.

[03:11:10 · asr-002595](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/23/#asr-002595)

### Dam completion prioritized over unwanted solar irrigation

Bancoro said he had previously asked NIA not to install solar irrigation while an unfinished dam remained the district's priority, arguing that the dam had a dependable river-basin source whereas the solar system's water table might be exhausted within two or three years. He said solar irrigation was nevertheless installed and had still failed, while the unfinished dam had already received hundreds of millions in government funding. Administrator Eduardo Eddie G. Guillen said NIA proposed P1.12 billion for Bancoro's district for 2027 but that the NEP contained only P29 million because of fiscal limits, and said NIA would prioritize projects that could be pursued. Bancoro objected that this repeated the prior year's fiscal-space answer and asked that the dam be addressed before any further solar-irrigation project; Guillen said congressional priorities on file with NIA would be prioritized.

[03:15:10 · asr-002645](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/23/#asr-002645)

### National direction for organic agriculture

Bancoro asked DA for the national direction on organic agriculture. He said the organic-agriculture budget presentation by the National Urban and Peri-Urban Agriculture Board (NUAB) appeared to change direction when implemented in each region, and asked for a separate discussion as an advocate of organic agriculture. Laurel agreed to meet with Bancoro at a suitable time and said DA would call the NUAB head so they could discuss and decide what was needed.

[03:18:13 · asr-002735](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/23/#asr-002735)

## Deputy Speaker Raymond Democrito C. Mendoza

### Palm-oil development, targets and funding

Deputy Speaker Raymond Democrito C. Mendoza asked DA to support and urgently certify his palm-oil development bill, which he described as creating a Palm Oil Development Authority. DA Secretary Francisco P. Tiu Laurel Jr. said the country imported almost 90% of its palm-oil requirements and that DA would seek a PHP 500 million special provision for the next year, with PHP 1 billion annually in later years if legislation supported it. He said the institutional option could be a new agency or a reorganized Philippine Coconut Authority with separate palm-oil and coconut leadership and teams. Laurel described a 300,000-hectare roadmap and said 100,000 hectares planted by the end of 2028 would be a good outcome; he also committed to recommend urgent certification to the President. Mendoza stressed prompt importation of seedlings or other good planting material, said 30,000 hectares were available, and reiterated the industry's request for PHP 1 billion annually, while accepting DA's PHP 500 million first-year request as scale-up began.

[03:20:05 · asr-002787](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/23/#asr-002787) · [03:20:40 · asr-002802](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/23/#asr-002802) · [03:21:25 · asr-002819](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/23/#asr-002819) · [03:21:43 · asr-002823](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/23/#asr-002823) · [03:22:47 · asr-002840](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/23/#asr-002840) · [03:23:04 · asr-002845](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/23/#asr-002845) · [03:24:26 · asr-002864](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/23/#asr-002864) · [03:25:26 · asr-002878](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/23/#asr-002878) · [03:27:13 · asr-002907](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/23/#asr-002907) · [03:27:54 · asr-002914](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/23/#asr-002914)

### Banana-sector development bill

Mendoza said the Philippines had fallen from second place to fourth or sometimes sixth in the banana sector and that the industry employed nearly a million direct and indirect workers, many affiliated with TUCP in Mindanao. He asked DA to support and urgently certify a Philippine Banana Industry Development Act, co-sponsored with Davao del Norte Congressman J.M. Lagdameo. Laurel said DA supported the initiative and would endorse it.

[03:25:32 · asr-002880](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/23/#asr-002880)

### Sugar pest intervention and reinvestment of sugar revenues

Mendoza asked for the expenditure breakdown of an amount described in the transcript as PHP 200 million for red-striped soft-scale insect concerns, and raised publication of the Sugar Order No. 8 board minutes for further discussion with the Sugar Regulatory Administration. Laurel said DA would provide the breakdown, cited PHP 25 million and PHP 10 million for interventions, application and chemical use so far, and then corrected a proposed next-year provision for RSSI and other pest interventions from PHP 250 million to PHP 300 million. He said the agency could manufacture bio-agents at municipal and national levels. Mendoza then asked whether tax revenues from sugar and sugar substitutes could be reinvested directly for sugar farmers and workers; Laurel said DA supported that policy.

[03:28:05 · asr-002919](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/23/#asr-002919)

## Rep. Allan U. Ty

### ANSEP P20 billion framework and tariff-backed revenue

Rep. Allan U. Ty asked how DA would use the P20 billion appropriated under the Animal Competitive Enhancement Fund (ANSEP). Secretary Francisco P. Tiu Laurel Jr. said DA would submit an amendment or special provision modeled on the 2026 approach, and confirmed it would follow the statutory framework Ty cited, describing it as a trial run before the P20 billion's eventual use in 2028. Undersecretary Nora C. Oliveros said the 2027 release would depend on tariff collections and reported P11.1 billion certified by the Bureau of Customs at that point. Undersecretary Asis G. Perez said ANSEP tariff collections could reach about P22 billion annually, noted the then-reduced 25% tariff, and said DA was working with the Tariff Commission to correct the classification of pork jowl; he estimated that change could add about P4 billion in revenue.

[03:32:04 · asr-003005](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/23/#asr-003005)

### NIA project list as validation record rather than rigid appropriation

Ty asked how the National Irrigation Administration uses its national-government subsidy and contrasted the former program-and-subprogram budget structure with the 2026 practice of itemizing individual projects. Administrator Eduardo Eddie G. Guillen said that under the earlier program-based arrangement NIA still submitted project lists and supporting documents to DBM for technical evaluation, validation, prioritization, costing, and readiness review; projects remained subject to procurement, audit, engineering, regulatory, reporting, and congressional-oversight requirements. Guillen said itemizing projects as separate budget lines in 2026 made it difficult to adjust when detailed engineering, costs, right-of-way, permits, calamities, or other field conditions changed.

[03:39:50 · asr-003097](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/23/#asr-003097)

### NIA request to restore program-based flexibility with supporting transparency

Ty pressed whether the submitted list was a planning and validation document rather than a statutory list of implementation-ready projects. Guillen agreed, said that conditions could change after initial validation, and said the form in which DBM placed the list in the NEP was DBM's discretion. He said a rigid project list reduced NIA's budget-utilization rate because funds could not readily be moved from a delayed project to another validated, ready project. NIA therefore preferred program-based appropriations under PLEXI, supported by a complete validated project list submitted separately for transparency, monitoring, and oversight. Guillen confirmed that NIA had formally requested this budget-classification amendment in a letter to the Speaker; Ty asked that the committee receive the same request.

[03:45:00 · asr-003221](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/23/#asr-003221)

## Rep. Eulogio "Leo" R. Rodriguez

### Pending hog-raiser indemnification in Catanduanes

Rep. Eulogio "Leo" R. Rodriguez asked why reported indemnification for Katanduanes hog raisers affected since 2025 had still not reached them. He cited 95 hog raisers, 371 affected hogs across 29 barangays and PHP 2.9 million reportedly downloaded, but said constituents did not know whether the money had reached Region V. DA Secretary Francisco P. Tiu Laurel Jr. said DA still had PHP 391 million in unpaid indemnification and was awaiting DBM approval of its request. With new cases reported in Pandan and BIRAC, Rodriguez asked that the matter be escalated. Laurel said DA was pursuing cash funding but was also considering an agreed alternative of growers with feeds, or a supplemental FY 2027 indemnification fund if money could not be secured through the QRF.

[03:53:08 · asr-003356](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/23/#asr-003356)

### Abaca recovery, product development and producer income

Rep. Eulogio "Leo" R. Rodriguez said Catanduanes faced declining abaca production, persistent disease rendered in the transcript as "bunch it up," low prices and farmers leaving abaca for other crops or work, and asked what could revive production in 2027. DA Secretary Francisco P. Tiu Laurel Jr. said the previous year's typhoon had severely reduced output because damaged plants could not restore production within one year. DA Undersecretary Cheryl Marie Natividad-Caballero said Catanduanes could meet national export needs by volume but abaca farmers were among the poorest, then described support for farmers' families making school bags and other uses including abaca plywood, plastics, textiles and an AFP-tested bulletproof vest. She said using abaca in part of the country's imported plastic could help farmers. Rodriguez said the promised interventions had to materialize and that viable buyer demand and prices were needed to keep growers producing.

[03:56:23 · asr-003450](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/23/#asr-003450) · [03:57:02 · asr-003467](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/23/#asr-003467) · [03:58:08 · asr-003498](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/23/#asr-003498) · [03:58:38 · asr-003513](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/23/#asr-003513) · [03:59:07 · asr-003528](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/23/#asr-003528) · [03:59:11 · asr-003530](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/23/#asr-003530) · [03:59:29 · asr-003539](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/23/#asr-003539) · [03:59:41 · asr-003545](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/23/#asr-003545) · [03:59:49 · asr-003549](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/23/#asr-003549) · [04:00:08 · asr-003569](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/23/#asr-003569)

### NIA repair proposals after storm damage

Rodriguez said only one NIA project for his district appeared to have funding, despite widespread repairs needed after calamities that local farmers’ associations could not finance. NIA Administrator Eduardo Eddie G. Guillen said the agency had proposed 55 projects totaling PHP 548 million for the district, but only one appeared in the NEP. He said damaged works had been submitted to the Office of Civil Defense for priority, noting that canals and dams are often first hit by typhoons and canals can become drainage channels in heavy rain. He attributed the gap to limited fiscal space.

[04:01:23 · asr-003605](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/23/#asr-003605)

### Farm-to-market-road allocation and follow-up

Rodriguez questioned why many validated projects rendered in the transcript as “IPMR” were not included, saying allocations appeared concentrated in one place rather than distributed to municipalities with difficult access. The chair initially deferred the answer to a second round but allowed the Secretary to respond. Laurel said DA’s first objective was to accommodate all ANAP requests for farm-to-market roads and that a larger DA FMR budget, like the prior year’s, could extend support to currently unfunded projects. Teves then directed parochial DA concerns to a September 3 consultation.

[04:03:42 · asr-003672](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/23/#asr-003672)

## Rep. Renee Louise M. Co

### Paxilica impact assessment and agricultural safeguards

Rep. Renee Louise Co joined earlier questions about the Paxilica initiative, saying the site named in the frozen source had 70% agricultural land and citing an estimate that 15,000 to 20,000 farmers could be affected. She asked whether the DA had investigated the impact. Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said the department was conducting research and expected to finish it and produce a recommendation by the end of the month. Co urged completion before plenary deliberations and asked that the review cover land reclassification, hydrologic and irrigation impacts, joint monitoring for heavy-metal contamination and toxic runoff, and the effects on smallholders and cooperatives of potential power-rate spikes and energy-supply diversion. Tiu Laurel said the DA would consider all suggestions raised and add any missing items to its research.

[04:05:59 · asr-003740](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/23/#asr-003740)

### Rice production outlook, imports, and local-production measures

Co asked for projected rice production and imports for 2026 and 2027, warning that greater reliance on imports could undermine self-sufficiency. Tiu Laurel said the 2026 target was about 19 million tons of palay, below the prior year's 19.9 million tons, under a worst-case El Niño scenario that he said would span the two years. He said normal import need would be 3.8 to 4 million tons, but the department projected up to 5 million tons for 2026 because of El Niño; for the following year he expected a return to 3.8 million tons because imports were being front-loaded for the first quarter of 2027 and the country needed a buffer of more than 60 days. He clarified that the 5-million-ton figure included imports already made, saying the country was then at almost 4 million tons; he said importers had agreed to reduce imports during harvest and that additional imports would be planned with the private sector after harvest for first-quarter readiness. Asked what would reverse import dependence, he described precautionary imports as a supply safeguard while citing rising average yield per hectare when weather is normal. He named continued mechanization, 380 drying systems for palay and corn, irrigation expansion, inbred and hybrid seed research, and a proposed policy requiring importers to invest in local industry and infrastructure and buy farmers' palay in order to receive import allocations.

[04:08:54 · asr-003828](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/23/#asr-003828)

### Rabies vaccination coverage and requests for population data

Co asked about funding for the National Anti-Rabies Program after the 2020 zero-rabies target was not met, and asked whether Bureau of Animal Industry data on free-roaming-dog population growth matched vaccination rates and available funding. DA Undersecretary Constante Palabrica said P150 million had been provided in 2025, with vaccines purchased for distribution, and that the DA planned to produce its own rabies vaccine. He said there were about 30 million dogs and cats, only around 20% to 30% vaccinated, and that a mass vaccination campaign would need around 27 million doses; he also described a planned nationwide vaccination and spaying activity. Co asked for the underlying data and supported institutionalizing trap-neuter-release efforts rather than a system she characterized as focused on impounding, but no specific population-growth dataset, funding-sufficiency calculation, or response on institutionalizing TNR is supplied in this exchange.

[04:15:30 · asr-004027](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/23/#asr-004027)

## Rep. Solomon R. Chungalao

### Land acquisition and Alfonso Lista operational status

Rep. Solomon R. Chungalao thanked the Secretary for a visit to a site whose name is imperfectly rendered in the transcript and reiterated his longstanding call for restoration and preservation of the agricultural heritage system. He then asked whether NIA had resolved a land-acquisition issue in Alfonso Lista, Santo Domingo and Nabilangan: NIA had expropriated farmland for public use, but a private corporation reportedly paid just compensation. He said constituents had recently raised the matter and that the Department of Justice was interested because similar cases might exist. NIA Administrator Eduardo Eddie G. Guillen said NIA would coordinate with SNAP to identify and resolve outstanding issues. On the Alfonso Lista irrigation project, Guillen said construction was complete but operation required a 185-metre water level; the dam was then at 179 metres.

[04:20:09 · asr-004159](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/23/#asr-004159)

### Irrigation allocations for heritage-area municipalities

Chungalao said his province hosts three irrigation systems serving other provinces, but mayors from heritage-area municipalities complained that their proposed projects had been removed from allocations. He asked DA and NIA to prioritize water infrastructure needed to preserve the heritage sites, arguing that their continued condition depended on constant water and that drying had already caused visible damage. Guillen said NIA would address heritage concerns and described a proposal to develop museum-type features at dams, linking tourism with the cultural heritage of surrounding communities.

[04:23:37 · asr-004251](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/23/#asr-004251)

### Alimit Dam, Magat resilience and district support

Guillen said the proposed Alimit Dam was awaiting NEDA approval and would help stabilize operation of an irrigation system whose name is unclear in the transcript. He described a series-of-dams approach with Magat and Alimit, intended to extend Magat Dam’s life amid siltation concerns. Chungalao said that, once contracted, Alimit would be an important NIA project in his province and would bring water to low-lying areas. He again asked for restoration and preservation of heritage sites to be prioritized. Guillen said he and Secretary Laurel were discussing assistance for the district.

[04:25:50 · asr-004318](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/23/#asr-004318)

## Rep. Presley C. De Jesus

### Study of marshlands for agricultural recovery

Rep. Presley De Jesus asked for the current status of a previously discussed plan to use marshland for cultivation, saying irrigable land was being lost to subdivisions and solar facilities. Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said the DA had funded a study on recovering marshlands through canals, citing Linguasan Marsh, the Agusan River Basin, an 'Agayan River Basin' as rendered in the frozen source, flood plains named in the source, Bicol, and other areas. He said the study and plan were under way and that the department would seek implementation funding after completion. He said the study would be completed by year-end and that World Bank funding available to the DA could allow implementation to start around mid-2027.

[04:28:07 · asr-004387](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/23/#asr-004387)

### Coffee seedlings, equipment, and local-industry development

De Jesus raised coffee production, saying 94% was acquired internationally while local supply was 4%, and asked whether the DA would provide seedlings or leave growers to purchase them privately. Tiu Laurel said the next year's budget increased support for coffee-industry development. He said the first step would be to increase nursery production of high-yielding varieties for distribution to landowners in identified coffee-growth areas, principally in Mindanao and also traditional areas in Luzon such as Batangas. He added that the DA would provide coffee grinders and roasting equipment to further develop the industry.

[04:29:56 · asr-004442](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/23/#asr-004442)

## Rep. Agustina Dominique "Ditse Tina" C. Pancho

### Angat Dam gate replacement and project timetable

Rep. Agustina Dominique "Ditse Tina" C. Pancho asked NIA about the status of Angat Dam after its rubber gate was damaged on May 1, 2025. Administrator Eduardo Eddie G. Guillen said funding had been released and put the amount at P1.5 billion, explaining that the replacement would be a hydraulic steel gate rather than another rubber gate. He said the rubber gate had a 15-year lifespan, while the proposed steel-gate specifications indicated about 45 years, above NIA's 35-year requirement. Near the close of the exchange, Guillen said procurement advertisement would be completed that week and that the work would be completed within a year.

[04:34:32 · asr-004560](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/23/#asr-004560)

### Long-term Bulacan flood and water-storage proposals

Guillen described four rivers affecting Bulacan and said NIA was working on the Bayabas River dam, which he said had presidential funding and a planned 54-million-cubic-meter capacity. He said NIA had recommended another dam at Ipo as part of a longer-term flood solution, while acknowledging that NIA could not build it alone and identifying MWSS and Napocor as potential partners because of drinking-water and pumped-storage uses. Responding to Pancho's question on rehabilitation and dredging, he said NIA's assessment focused on siltation and proposed an afterbay dam downstream of Bustos Dam rather than relying on dredging.

[04:35:05 · asr-004565](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/23/#asr-004565)

### Sabo-dam coordination and interim protection

The discussion then turned to interagency flood-control work. Guillen said NIA had a convergence project with DPWH and that a sabo dam upstream of the dams was under consideration for sediment control and to reduce the velocity of water coming down from the mountains. Pancho emphasized the immediate gate replacement in the rainy period. Guillen said sheet piles had already been installed upstream as an interim water barrier, which he said would also reduce the construction needed for the replacement gate.

[04:39:48 · asr-004647](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/23/#asr-004647)

## Rep. Antonio L. Tinio

### Network plan, backlog and changing project priorities

Rep. Antonio L. Tinio asked whether DA follows the National Farm-to-Market Roads Network Plan in its yearly budget proposals and how it identifies projects. DA Secretary Francisco P. Tiu Laurel Jr. said the plan is the main basis, with annual additions as areas expand. He estimated a 55,000-kilometre FMR gap and said a PHP 16 billion budget could not close it; he calculated that building 50,000 kilometres in six years at PHP 15 million per kilometre would require PHP 125 billion annually. Tinio asked whether the plan therefore changed every year. Laurel said DA joined unfinished projects to new needs, citing roads for purple-yam production and aquaculture, but acknowledged the difficulty of managing competing local priorities amid the shortfall.

[04:42:44 · asr-004681](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/23/#asr-004681)

### Completion record, releases and cost per kilometre

Tinio cited DA transparency-portal figures showing 6,400 FMR projects from 2021 to 2026, 3,235 completed, PHP 109 billion invested and 2.4 thousand kilometres of total length, then requested a fiscal-year breakdown of spending and completed projects. Laurel said the 2026 programme covering more than 2,000 kilometres plus the cited 2,400 kilometres had not yet been implemented because the release had only come the previous week. He added that PHP 10.7 billion of the 2025 PHP 23 billion FMR budget had not been released, leaving PHP 12.7 billion released. Tinio challenged the proposed PHP 15.9 million-per-kilometre figure against an earlier PHP 9.4 million figure. Laurel said DA’s 2025 cost was already PHP 15 million per kilometre; it had hoped to lower that to PHP 13.5–14 million, but maintained PHP 15 million after the February Middle East crisis raised steel, fuel and construction costs.

[04:46:16 · asr-004733](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/23/#asr-004733)

### Large Benguet projects and the cold-chain rationale

Reviewing DA’s proposed PHP 16 billion FMR budget, Tinio said 703 projects were spread across regions and that most appeared to cost PHP 15–30 million or less, but a few exceeded PHP 30 million, including projects up to PHP 500 million. He asked why those outliers needed scrutiny. Laurel said DA had seen cabbage prices fall to PHP 5 per kilogram and other produce losses during heavy rains in the area, and regarded missing FMRs as a major cause. He said the roads were strategically linked to a planned Benguet State University mega cold-storage and processing facility, estimated to cost at least PHP 700 million, and to the La Trinidad food hub.

[04:50:08 · asr-004847](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/23/#asr-004847)

### Coordinates, possible errors and disclosure of high-cost projects

Tinio said the budget presentation gave coordinates but not project lengths or routes, making it impossible to assess whether a high-cost project was distinct from an existing road. He showed one PHP 500 million project whose displayed endpoints appeared already connected by an FMR, and another La Union entry whose ending coordinate appeared in the sea. He said either typographical errors or inadequate detail undermined the promise of no ghost projects. Laurel said Google Maps would draw a direct line between two points, whereas DA had its own system; he said DA would check the data, coordinate with Tinio’s office and that an existing road might indicate an alternative route serving another production area. Tinio requested specific length, location and other details for all projects above PHP 30 million. Laurel said DA had the reports on hand and would have them presented.

[04:54:15 · asr-004968](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/23/#asr-004968)

## Rep. Arnan C. Panaligan

### Quality and lifecycle concerns in mechanization procurement

Rep. Arnan C. Panaligan said low mechanization was a stated agricultural bottleneck and raised farmers' concerns about PhilMech-procured tractors and combined harvesters awarded through lowest-bid procurement. He said farmers described some harvesters as disposable after only a few uses, with mechanical trouble, unavailable spare parts, poor blower performance, and higher fuel use—more than 20 liters per hectare compared with 12 liters for another brand. He argued that a low bid did not necessarily deliver the best quality and that scarce funds should not be wasted on poor-performing equipment. DA Secretary Francisco P. Tiu Laurel Jr. agreed that the best equipment should be bought, asked for machine, brand, and complaint details, and said DA and PhilMech would discuss how to filter out low-quality equipment.

[04:58:48 · asr-005100](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/23/#asr-005100)

### Stalled solar-powered irrigation projects

Panaligan then raised delayed BSWM solar-powered irrigation projects, saying two in his district had been pending without movement since October 2025. He said the problem was not parochial: a list provided by the previous BSWM director showed many such projects across the Philippines, and he asked the secretary to investigate so public money would not be wasted. Laurel said he would request a report and push the two Oriental Mindoro solar-irrigation projects.

[05:02:26 · asr-005207](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/23/#asr-005207)

### QR-code fertilizer vouchers for 2027

Panaligan asked whether DA would return to a fertilizer voucher system, saying farmers had previously been able to choose a familiar, tested fertilizer from agricultural stores. He relayed complaints about centrally supplied fertilizer, including that it floated in water, and asked DA to look into the quality issue. Laurel answered that inorganic fertilizers for 2027 would use a QR-code voucher system.

[05:03:39 · asr-005243](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/23/#asr-005243)

## Rep. Roberto Nazal

### Farm-to-market road deficit, prioritization, and delivery capacity

Rep. Roberto Nazal said the DA reported a 55,050-kilometer farm-to-market-road (FMR) deficit and questioned a proposed 2027 reduction from P33 billion to P16 billion, or 51.5%, asking how roughly 1,000 kilometers annually could materially improve productivity, costs, postharvest losses, market access, and farm income. Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. agreed the amount was insufficient. He said FMR prioritization uses road influence area, poverty incidence, farmer or fisherfolk beneficiaries, distance to network links, road condition, climate adaptation, traffic, and new production areas. He said the department generally considers economic returns but also opens 'missionary' routes with low current production and high potential. Asked for an ideal annual level, he said P60 billion could build 4,000 kilometers annually, which he described as a bare minimum to close the deficit in 10 to 12 years; he attributed the lower NEP request to fiscal space. He said DA was implementing 30% of its P33 billion current-year FMR budget because of absorptive-capacity and manpower limits, but expected to be more ready the next year and further ready the year after.

[05:05:11 · asr-005285](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/23/#asr-005285)

### NIA seeks program-based appropriations with accountable flexibility

Nazal asked whether the more specifically itemized 2026 NIA project budget and Special Provision No. 8, which restricted changes to the project list, had affected implementation. Administrator Eduardo Eddie Guillen said NIA's budget utilization rate fell because the special provisions were stringent. He recommended a program-based appropriation under PREC-C, as used before 2026, supported by a detailed, validated, and transparent project list submitted separately to Congress and DBM. He said that arrangement would retain oversight while allowing response to field conditions and timely project use, and would not give NIA unlimited authority because adjustments would remain within the approved program and budgeting, procurement, auditing, and reporting rules. Guillen said inflexible line items complicate repairs after floods or storms and relocation of solar-pump projects when drilling finds obstacles despite georesistivity work. He also said across-the-board cuts can leave a listed project costed above its remaining budget, disrupt early procurement, and delay implementation; irrigation construction must be timed around water use, and an incomplete dam can endanger the whole system. Nazal asked NIA to submit its proposed special provisions and implementation arrangement in writing; Guillen agreed.

[05:09:15 · asr-005326](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/23/#asr-005326)

### BFAR's delayed 2024 capital projects and completion list

Nazal said the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) had P3.63 billion unobligated in 2024, P1.102 billion in unused cash reverted to the Treasury, and capital-outlay utilization of 21.54%; he cited COA's finding that projects were not implementation-ready and questioned BFAR's request for P12.412 billion in 2027, including a capital-outlay figure spoken or transcribed as "P3.61.4 billion," whose numerical value is unclear as rendered in the frozen source. BFAR Assistant Director for Administrative Services Zaldi Perez said the 2024 delay stemmed from bidding and the preparation of terms of reference and specifications for 50-meter, 80-meter, and 62-foot vessels. He said the projects were successfully bid late in 2024, obligated in 2025, and were ongoing: 62-foot patrol-vessel deliveries had begun while the 50-meter and 80-meter vessels remained under construction. Nazal requested a list of projects BFAR would complete from the 2024 program; the Chair directed its submission and Perez agreed.

[05:18:09 · asr-005444](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/23/#asr-005444)

## Rep. Rufus B. Rodriguez

### Farm roads, post-harvest facilities and fertilizer support

Rep. Rufus B. Rodriguez thanked DA for delivering more seedlings and farm-to-market roads than he had requested, then invited agency officials to state their needs. DA Undersecretary Arrey A. Perez said the FMR gap remained 55,000 kilometres and asked for an additional 2,000 kilometres, estimated at PHP 30 billion, after the current PHP 16 billion programme. DA Undersecretary Roger V. Navarro said post-harvest losses across commodities reached about PHP 250 billion annually and argued for more dryers, cold storage and related infrastructure; NFA Administrator Larry R. Lacson said NFA proposed about PHP 6.5 billion for 2027. Navarro said rice-only support was insufficient and urged roughly doubling post-harvest funding and raising it over the next two years. The exchange also records a call to raise fertilizer support from PHP 8.7 billion toward PHP 30 billion.

[05:21:20 · asr-005482](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/23/#asr-005482)

### High-value crops, agricultural credit and organic agriculture

DA Undersecretary Cheryl Marie Natividad-Caballero said the high-value crops development program was a DA priority for food security, nutrient-dense food, farmer income, diversification, value addition and competitiveness. She stated targets of at least 2.5% annual improvement in priority high-value-crop industries and at least 50% higher farmer income through diversification and value addition. Agricultural Credit Policy Council Executive Director Rallen O. Verdadero said ACPC did not seek additional funding but asked that credit be integrated into other DA programmes, including high-value crops. He said ACPC receives PHP 2.75 billion annually and had lent PHP 5 billion to farmers, fishers and agricultural micro and small enterprises. National Organic Agriculture Program Director Bernadette F. San Juan said her programme’s immediate concern was its structure rather than its budget.

[05:28:04 · asr-005588](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/23/#asr-005588)

### Coconut seedlings, fish port and fishing equipment

Rodriguez thanked the Philippine Coconut Authority for doubling a prior request from 30,000 to 60,000 seedlings and asked for another 30,000. He then sought an update on a fish port and landing facility. Philippine Fisheries Development Authority Acting General Manager Glen A. Pangapalan said the earlier Barangay Bonbon site had been replaced by Barangay Macabalan, which could expand into a potential deep-water port. Navarro said the fish landing and fish port would be integrated near the bridge to Bonbon at Macabalan and expressed hope for groundbreaking that year. Rodriguez also said BFAR had delivered 30 reinforced-fiberglass boats but still owed 20, plus 100 fishing-gear sets; BFAR Director Elizer S. Salilig noted the request and the exchange set a September-plenary delivery target.

[05:33:02 · asr-005630](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/23/#asr-005630)

### Cattle and goat delivery commitments

Rodriguez said the National Dairy Authority had promised 100 cattle and 100 goats for Cagayan de Oro but had delivered none. NDA Administrator Marcus Antonius T. Andaya said the agency had been unable to identify eligible farmers with sufficient land for dairy farming, but was continuing to search and expected a forthcoming importation that year. Rodriguez asked that Andaya be put under oath, warned that a further failure to deliver could lead to a perjury case, and obtained an undertaking to deliver subject to finding qualified farmers. He separately called DA Undersecretary Constante J. Palabrica and BAI Officer-in-Charge Director Christian P. Daquigan to account for their livestock commitments, also seeking oaths and warning Palabrica of perjury liability. Palabrica said the 100 cattle were still being grown and estimated another three to four months; Daquigan said goat delivery would move to the first quarter of the next year because breeding during the rainy season was difficult and imported goats would be better.

[05:36:24 · asr-005701](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/23/#asr-005701) · [05:37:14 · asr-005713](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/23/#asr-005713) · [05:37:51 · asr-005725](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/23/#asr-005725) · [05:38:33 · asr-005741](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/23/#asr-005741) · [05:38:51 · asr-005746](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/23/#asr-005746) · [05:39:06 · asr-005753](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/23/#asr-005753) · [05:39:30 · asr-005764](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/23/#asr-005764) · [05:40:08 · asr-005779](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/23/#asr-005779) · [05:40:28 · asr-005784](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/23/#asr-005784)

### Carabao distribution follow-up

Rodriguez said a signed record called for 400 carabaos to be distributed but that the promised delivery remained incomplete after a year. Philippine Carabao Center Executive Director Liza G. Batad said the agency was coordinating with his staff and initially referred to 10 remaining animals while awaiting a list. Rodriguez corrected the discussion, saying previous distributions had gone to Misamis Oriental rather than Cagayan de Oro. Batad apologized and said the remaining 10 would be picked up on Thursday. Rodriguez noted this was part of a longer-running request and submitted a new request for another 50.

[05:40:58 · asr-005796](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/23/#asr-005796)

### NIA irrigation and solar-pumping request

Rodriguez invoked the chair’s stated flexibility to ask NIA for irrigation projects in his area. He said his PHP 125 million irrigation proposal and a solar water-pumping irrigation request had received zero in the NEP, but that a consultation with NIA had consolidated the PHP 125 million request and, according to regional staff, approved five PHP 15 million components. He asked for assurance. NIA Administrator Eduardo Eddie G. Guillen confirmed that staff were carrying out a georesistivity survey in the area. Rodriguez treated the response as approval of PHP 200 million in support and thanked NIA and DA officials.

[05:42:29 · asr-005839](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/23/#asr-005839)

## Rep. Cielo Krisel Lagman

### High-value crop coverage under PAF

Rep. Cielo Krisel Lagman thanked DA for including high-value crop farmers in PAF, saying her regional director had told her funding could cover them in addition to farmers of rice, sugar, and corn and fisherfolk. She asked whether coconut and abaca growers were included. The exchange records that coconut farmers were not included, while abaca farmers could be included.

[05:45:01 · asr-005918](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/23/#asr-005918)

### Local milk output and dependence on imports

Lagman asked the National Dairy Authority about local milk production for the school feeding program. Administrator Marcus Antonius T. Andaya said output rose from 29 million liters in 2024 to 43 million liters in 2025, but remained insufficient for the full program. Lagman cited 25.38 million liters in January to June 2025 and asked about imports; Andaya said national milk sufficiency had increased from 1% to 2.2%, leaving imports at about 98% on average. The exchange also records a 2026 school-feeding target of 4.5 million children and about P3 billion for NDA's DepEd milk-feeding program, exclusive of DSWD's program.

[05:46:19 · asr-005937](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/23/#asr-005937)

### Building dairy supply around the feeding-market demand

Lagman argued that the school feeding program should create a reliable demand for local fresh milk and pressed for faster domestic dairy production, noting the sugar content she said was present in fermented and flavored milk beverages. Andaya said imported dairy animals had often been directly distributed to farmers and then died; NDA had begun using stock farms to acclimatize and breed imported animals before distributing island-born dairy cattle. He said the budget also supported feed centers, which would process locally grown grass or corn into silage. Andaya said the milk-feeding program had encouraged farmers to keep dairy animals because it created a buyer, while the NDA's own NEP budget was P216 million and largely for salaries. He confirmed that feeding-program funds administered through NDA and PCC would be used to buy milk directly from dairy farmers and cooperatives.

[05:49:26 · asr-005990](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/23/#asr-005990)

### Sugar-demand data for proposed beverage-tax changes

Lagman asked the Sugar Regulatory Administration for data from 2017 to the present on sugar volumes purchased and consumed by industry, extending beyond sweetened beverages and including demand for artificial sweeteners. She said the information was needed to assess the effect on local sugar farmers of a Department of Finance proposal to raise sweetened-beverage taxes. SRA Administrator Pablo Luis S. Azcona agreed to provide the data to her office.

[05:54:47 · asr-006051](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/23/#asr-006051)

## Rep. Romeo S. Momo Sr.

### Marihatag abaca corridor and the Tier 2 funding gap

Rep. Romeo Momo said Marihatag, Surigao del Sur was a major abaca producer, reporting 4,140 metric tons in 2025, or about 7.4% of national production, and a 10% growth rate. He described an Abaca Agro-Industrial Corridor for a Manobo community and former insurgency-affected area, endorsed by the Regional Development Council among Caraga's top 30 implementation-ready priorities. He said the project had a feasibility study, a total cost of P739 million, and a requested P47 million initial allocation for an abaca consolidation and processing center. Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said the P47 million was included in Tier 2, but that the DA's Tier 2 request had not been approved. He said the department could access World Bank funding if the project had the needed 'house' or initial facility, and said it would endeavor to place it in Tier 1, even with P5 million to P10 million, after which the DA would add support.

[05:56:49 · asr-006079](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/23/#asr-006079)

### Lianga ice plant and cold-storage request

Momo said 13 coastal municipalities in his district supplied fish to nearby provinces and cities, but lacked cold storage, forcing fishers to sell cheaply during high catch periods. He asked that a previously submitted Lianga proposal be prioritized and identified Barangay St. Christine, Lianga, Surigao del Sur as the intended site. Tiu Laurel responded that the project would be an ice plant and cold storage facility. The exchange does not state an allocation, schedule, or formal approval.

[06:01:00 · asr-006114](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/23/#asr-006114)

### NIA funding for district systems and completion of Santa Filomena

Momo said his district's two national irrigation systems supported substantial rice production but had only P5 million allocated, which he said was inadequate for repair, maintenance, and sufficient water delivery. NIA Administrator Eduardo Eddie Guillen said NIA had proposed P2 billion for one project and P250 million to repair Santa Filomena CIS, but confirmed that only P5 million had emerged; he said NIA would revisit the projects if additional funding became available. Momo argued that limited funds should be distributed equitably, particularly to Mindanao as a food-producing area. Guillen said ongoing projects were NIA's funding priority, but offered to provide a list showing that NIA savings and this year's modifications were directed largely to Mindanao. Momo said only P60 million remained to finish Santa Filomena Dam and urged its completion as an ongoing project. Guillen said NIA would prioritize it.

[06:02:41 · asr-006128](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/23/#asr-006128)

## Rep. Reynolds Michael T. Tan

### FY 2025 farm-road release and cash-flow constraint

Rep. Reynolds Michael T. Tan asked for the status of the FY 2025 PHP 23 billion farm-to-market-road programme and why part of the budget remained unreleased. DA Secretary Francisco P. Tiu Laurel Jr. said PHP 5.7 billion was expected to be released soon and attributed the staged release to budget cash flow, saying DA had asked for the entire amount to be released but DBM had advised it on the amount available for now. The source’s wording around the other FY 2025 release figures is incomplete, so the digest does not reconcile the total.

[06:07:01 · asr-006190](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/23/#asr-006190)

### Farm-road design for unserved Samar barangays

Tan said Samar still had roughly 10% of its 951 barangays without road access, so some FMR projects served as the route to the barangay before reaching farms. He raised overlap with DPWH funding and asked about road width and thickness. Laurel said DA was changing the classification from “concreting” to “construction” to allow more flexibility for difficult terrain and slope protection. He said new road openings could initially use soil stabilizers to compact the route, allowing the same PHP 15 million-per-kilometre budget to cover more distance, and said DA and DPWH should align their standards. Tan said Samar would comply with DA guidance and asked that the province’s circumstances be considered.

[06:08:22 · asr-006209](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/23/#asr-006209)

### Region VIII irrigation allocation and flexible reprogramming

Tan said Region VIII irrigation funding had fallen from PHP 2.1 billion in 2025 to PHP 1.6 billion in 2026 and PHP 149 million for 2027, despite the region submitting PHP 8 billion in proposals. NIA Administrator Eduardo Eddie G. Guillen said NIA had requested almost PHP 250 billion nationally but only PHP 46 billion was in the NEP, with Tier 1 and ongoing projects prioritized. He said Samar’s Katubig area and other unirrigated areas with rivers could be considered when NIA modified projects, subject to approval of its request. Guillen said the budget was itemized by project and that NIA sought greater flexibility to redirect funds from projects that could not be implemented to shovel-ready alternatives. He said the current special provision was restrictive enough that some funds might lapse for two years before they could be modified, and asked Congress to restore flexibility.

[06:14:30 · asr-006294](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/23/#asr-006294)

## Rep. Nelson S. Legacion

### Farm-to-market roads and district allocation gap

Rep. Nelson S. Legacion described farmers in Camaligan and nearby municipalities cultivating about 150 hectares who had to carry palay to the roadside, paying P20 to P80 per sack for hauling. He argued that farm-to-market roads would sharply reduce those costs. He compared the P33 billion 2026 approved farm-to-market-road budget with the P16 billion current NEP figure; Secretary Francisco P. Tiu Laurel Jr. recalled that the 2026 NEP had also been P16 billion. Legacion said the final 2026 allocation had doubled to P33 billion and supported DA's request for a larger amount, asking that his district be considered if funding increased. He said only two of 14 validated district projects valued at about P264 million appeared in the NEP, totaling P30 million.

[06:18:22 · asr-006398](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/23/#asr-006398)

### Request for proportionate NIA irrigation funding

Legacion asked NIA about the relationship between its 2026 GAA and 2027 NEP, characterizing the P46 billion NEP as about 73% of the roughly P63 billion 2026 GAA. He said his district had 41 validated irrigation projects worth about P990 million, but only two projects totaling P12 million were allocated. Administrator Eduardo Eddie G. Guillen said NIA's 2027 proposal was P235 billion and referred to more than P1 billion in the proposal for Legacion's district, while acknowledging that only P1.9 million and P1.3 million had been approved in the NEP. Legacion clarified that a cited P990 million included projects outside his district and asked for a proportionate adjustment if the overall allocation improved. The exchange does not record a commitment to make that adjustment.

[06:22:01 · asr-006503](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/23/#asr-006503)

### Aquaculture expansion at the Bumbon hatchery

Legacion raised a legislated hatchery at Bumbon, which he said was operating but not realizing its full potential. He proposed aquaculture-farming projects: converting unused piggeries into concrete ponds, fiber fish tanks, and earth ponds. He said BFAR had excavators that could be loaned for the earth ponds and asked DA to consider a proposal he had submitted in June. Laurel said DA would ask its regional director to coordinate with Legacion so the proposal could be implemented; the chair then noted that equipment could also be requested from PhilMech.

[06:24:35 · asr-006581](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/23/#asr-006581)

## Rep. Sergio C. Dagooc

### Seed-system support and NIA requests for Dinagat

Rep. Sergio Dagooc thanked the new NIA team assigned to the Surigao del Norte satellite office, saying it had been visible in Dinagat and Surigao del Norte and had resolved about 70% of the problems he had identified. He then asked for the seed-system-program budget in Caraga, particularly Dinagat and Surigao del Norte. DA Undersecretary Cheryl Marie Natividad-Caballero said total Caraga funding across interventions was P34 million, but did not provide the requested seed-system disaggregation during the exchange. Dagooc said mining had displaced agricultural support in Dinagat and sought assurance that an insufficient seed-system budget could be increased. Tiu Laurel said the regional office had a plan and would submit its proposal and budget to him; he said he would review it and commit to fund it. On unrepaired irrigation, Guillen said NIA's 2027 request for Dinagat Islands was P32.6 million.

[06:26:50 · asr-006646](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/23/#asr-006646)

### Solar power, agricultural land, and geofencing

Dagooc asked whether the DA and Department of Energy were addressing solar farms on agricultural land, warning that both food and electricity were needed and that transmission investments could be stranded without early site guidance. Guillen said NIA had built around 100 megawatts of solar-powered pumps nationwide and proposed connecting them to electric cooperatives; he cited a planned Ilocos Norte pilot with INEC that, if successful, could generate at least P600 million in NIA income and offer electricity at P4 per kilowatt-hour. Tiu Laurel said the DA had held three meetings with DOE in recent months and had an agri-photovoltaic project with it. He said the DA saw no issue for high-value crops, citing research that shade could improve production for crops such as chili and eggplant, but had not agreed to solar on rice land pending research at DA stations in Bohol and Mindanao. He said the DA would permit solar for land above an 8% slope, while its current arrangement with DOE allowed already-started or permitted projects to continue and held new projects pending a policy framework. He said DA planned to geofence agricultural reserve areas and hoped to finish the work by year-end.

[06:31:03 · asr-006739](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/23/#asr-006739)

### Animal Competitiveness Fund implementation

Dagooc asked how the Animal Competitiveness Fund under RA 12308 would be implemented. Tiu Laurel said import-tax collections from meat products would provide P20 billion annually for the livestock or animal industry. He said P4 billion to P5 billion, or 25% of the fund, would initially go to repopulation, alongside a vaccine-manufacturing facility, herd build-up, and dairy measures, with the statutory breakdown guiding implementation.

[06:36:13 · asr-006778](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/23/#asr-006778)

### Extension workers as a condition for agricultural delivery

Dagooc said agricultural and irrigation outcomes depended on competent personnel as well as budgets. Tiu Laurel agreed and asked for support in advancing agricultural extension workers, saying the DA needed a staff member directly assigned to farmers in every district and municipality.

[06:37:32 · asr-006794](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/23/#asr-006794)

## Rep. Ma. Cristina Talavera Lopez

### Farmgate-price decline and ASF response

Rep. Ma. Cristina Talavera Lopez said the average farmgate price of slaughter hogs had fallen from PHP 209 per kilogram in the first quarter of the prior year to PHP 176 per kilogram in January–March 2026, while retail pork remained high. She asked how DA would help backyard hog raisers in Quezon. DA Secretary Francisco P. Tiu Laurel Jr. said farmgate prices had also fallen in the Visayas and Mindanao, with some Mindanao farms at PHP 120–130 per kilogram. He attributed the decline chiefly to fear of African swine fever during heavy rains, saying producers were unloading stock before possible infection, and said ASF vaccine had been cleared for commercial use and could be purchased by hog raisers when supplier stock arrived.

[06:38:57 · asr-006821](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/23/#asr-006821)

### Pork imports and the farmgate-to-retail gap

Lopez asked how much pork was being imported while farmgate prices were falling. Laurel said DA data showed lower 2026 imports than in 2025 for the main affected products: pork bellies fell from 9,000 to 8,000 tons a month, while pork cuts such as kasim and pigi fell from 29,800 to 25,000 tons a month as of August. He said the import data indicated a healthy industry and maintained that producers’ rapid stock unloading, rather than imports alone, was the immediate problem. Lopez replied that imports were at most a short-term measure and asked for longer-term support for hog raisers.

[06:43:14 · asr-006899](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/23/#asr-006899)

### Tariff measures and livestock repopulation

Laurel said DA did not favor continuous importation and would restrict it if possible, but was constrained by WTO rules. He said DA had asked economic managers to restore or raise the tariff on pork and was working with the Tariff Commission to reclassify a product term rendered in the transcript as “jowls” or “pangaba” as a pork cut rather than offal, in order to increase the tariff. Lopez said she supported the DA and NIA budgets and asked that small backyard producers remain a priority. Laurel said additional livestock funding would support repopulation and larger animal populations so domestic production could reduce imports and compete.

[06:45:15 · asr-006932](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/23/#asr-006932)

## Rep. Audrey Kay T. Zubiri

### Bukidnon NIA figure marked for correction

Rep. Audrey Kay T. Zubiri cited reported 2025 Bukidnon production figures and asked NIA to clarify the apparent zero NEP allocation for Bukidnon's Third District. She contrasted Regional Development Council-endorsed figures of P772 million in 2025, P500 million in 2026, and P273 million for 2027 with the zero shown in her document. Administrator Eduardo Eddie G. Guillen said he was also surprised given Bukidnon's agricultural role, said NIA had many proposals, and offered to coordinate with her office. He said the figure had not been updated; Zubiri said she was relieved but sought further discussion of the correct amount. The frozen unit does not state the corrected allocation.

[06:47:40 · asr-006954](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/23/#asr-006954)

### SRA budget reduction and delayed utilization

Zubiri asked why SRA had received P1 billion when she understood P2 billion had been allotted and members had sought a larger SRA budget. Administrator Pablo Luis S. Azcona attributed the problem to utilization issues and new procurement guidelines that delayed implementation. He said SRA planned to use some funds for a quick-response fund addressing RSSI infection and El Niño mitigation. Azcona said the legally pre-allocated SIDA program would be cut 50% by a P2 billion-to-P1 billion reduction, affecting programs across the board. He also said releases of Presidential Assistance for Farmers support were ongoing, with a total industry assistance amount of more than P420 million and almost P100 million released at that point; he could not state Bukidnon's share and said he would provide it.

[06:52:15 · asr-007010](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/23/#asr-007010)

### RSSI spread and proposed Region X laboratory response

Zubiri said the RSSI-affected area in Bukidnon had grown from about 30 hectares to 576 hectares in three months and asked DA Region X about biological-control capacity and the funding needed. Regional Executive Director Jose Apollo Y. Pacamalan said capacity had risen from five hectares a day early in the year to 20 at a 1.1% infection rate and then 30 hectares a day after discussions with SRA. He said Region X aimed to reach 100 hectares a day before year-end and that the current 2.2% infection rate covered 45,000 hectares of sugarcane. Pacamalan identified a proposed P150 million quick-response fund to expand laboratory capacity and said the goal was to avoid exceeding a 5% infection rate.

[06:55:15 · asr-007049](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/23/#asr-007049)

### Private laboratory participation and procurement bottleneck

Zubiri questioned whether capacity could catch up with infection growth. Pacamalan said DA had helped Crystal Milling Corporation and Busco start laboratories and that participation by private laboratory owners and two milling companies could help keep infection below 5%. He described Bukidnon's 45,000 hectares of sugarcane as a commodity worth more than P1 billion and supported the P150 million request as a small investment relative to possible losses. Returning to SRA's budget issue, Azcona said new procurement rules had delayed procurement but that SRA was trying to make up for it in the final quarter.

[06:58:59 · asr-007103](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/23/#asr-007103)

## Rep. Nicanor M. Briones

### ASF commercial-use request and egg-sector processing support

Rep. Nicanor Briones thanked the DA for what he described as an earlier request concerning commercial use of an ASF vaccine, and said a special import permit was needed for quick implementation. He said commercial use would provide free vaccination for 16 million piglets aged one to six months, but the frozen source does not record a DA response confirming that description. Briones also described falling egg prices and processing equipment for the Batangas egg sector, reporting that San Jose produced 12 million eggs daily. He said pasteurized liquid egg could last from two weeks to two months, powdered egg up to two years, and boiled eggs in brine or frozen egg six months; he also cited large grants to cooperatives. These are Briones's reported figures and descriptions in the exchange.

[07:03:23 · asr-007167](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/23/#asr-007167)

### Vaccine reserve proposed under the animal-industry fund

Briones said the Animal Industry Development Competitiveness Enhancement Fund could provide roughly P20 billion to P30 billion annually over 10 years and proposed reserving about P1 billion for ASF and avian-influenza vaccines so funds would be available to stop an outbreak. Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said the DA would include the suggestion in its request for an amendment to the BBM and could put a P1 billion vaccine budget in it, for either AI or ASF.

[07:07:17 · asr-007205](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/23/#asr-007205)

### Border inspection facilities and staffing constraint

Briones asked for funding for first-border inspection facilities, saying they could strengthen biosecurity and reduce smuggling. Tiu Laurel said 2026 funds supported implementation at three sites—Subic, Manila, and Davao—and that money from the animal-industry fund could support future sites if needed. He said the DA had a hiring issue because a ruling prevented additional hiring despite a law that he said should allow it, and that the department was sorting this out with DBM.

[07:08:42 · asr-007220](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/23/#asr-007220)

### Meat-import volumes and transaction-value controls

Briones said imports should be limited to what consumers needed and questioned reported pork-meat imports of 851 million, arguing that offal, skin, and fats might in fact be pork. He asked the DA to use transaction values, rather than reference values far from actual import prices, to guide the department and industry and avoid undermining farmers selling at a loss. Tiu Laurel said the DA would do that.

[07:10:00 · asr-007234](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/23/#asr-007234)