“We wish to clarify that the reported farm-to-market road (FMR) allotted for the National Capital Region (NCR), under General Appropriations Act (GAA) of 2020, is actually intended for the Bangsa Moro Autonomous Region In Muslim Mindanao (BARRM), amounting to P344 million, involving 26 FMR projects.

“Lodging the FMR allocation under the NCR has since been a practice, even when BARRM was called the ARRM.

“The budget is directly released by the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) to the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), that bids out to qualified companies the repair, rehabilitation and construction of farm-to-market roads in designated agricultural production areas.

“All FMR projects are listed in the GAA for transparency. The reported FMR for BARRM, but lodged in NCR, is under Volume 1-b of the 2020 GAA, page 644.”