Manila: The Department of Agriculture (DA) on Wednesday announced the imposition of approximately PHP81 million in penalties on suppliers for delayed deliveries of farm inputs and sluggish implementation of government-funded projects, which have disrupted significant agricultural programs in 2025.
According to Philippines News Agency, these penalties followed a directive from Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr., issued on February 18, instructing regional field offices to provide a detailed accounting of liquidated damages related to violations of supply and infrastructure contracts.
The reports from these submissions highlighted a recurring issue of late deliveries of fertilizers, seeds, farm equipment, and construction materials, along with delays in the construction of agricultural facilities and irrigation systems. 'Timely delivery of inputs and projects helps farmers improve productivity, increase income, and contribute to the country's food security,' Tiu Laurel stated.
More than 100 suppliers and contractors faced penalties due to stringent enforcement of liquidation of damages for contractual violations. Among the affected suppliers, those in Northern Luzon incurred the largest penalties, with Regional Field Office (RFO) II (Cagayan Valley) recording the highest at PHP28.5 million, followed by RFO I (Ilocos Region) with PHP18.2 million, and RFO III (Central Luzon) with PHP15.4 million.
In the Ilocos Region, the DA imposed its largest single penalty of PHP14.1 million on La Filipina Uy Gongco Corp for the delayed delivery of complete fertilizer (14-14-14). Additionally, Leads Agricultural Products Corp. was fined PHP1.4 million for the late delivery of 29,278 bags of hybrid seeds.
Cagayan Valley also reported penalties related to farm inputs, with liquidated damages worth PHP20.1 million for seed deliveries and PHP5.9 million for fertilizers against companies such as Farmex Corp., Jedeco Trading Corp., SL Agritech Corp., and Universal Harvester Inc.
In Central Luzon, Agri Component Corp. was fined PHP4.5 million for delays in two Rice Processing System projects, while Verlin Konstrukt Inc. faced a PHP1 million fine for delayed delivery of labor and materials for a bio-secure swine finisher facility.
Modern Times Enterprises, Inc. incurred penalties of PHP643,490 in the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) due to the non-delivery of over 41,000 bags of inorganic fertilizer, with only 39,575 out of 80,603 bags delivered.
Reports from all RFOs, except for Metro Manila and the newly formed Negros Island Region (NIR), were submitted to Tiu Laurel. In Calabarzon, liquidated damages amounted to PHP3.1 million and PHP5.8 million for Mimaropa. The Bicol region logged PHP1 million in penalties, Western Visayas PHP5.2 million, Central Visayas PHP597,015, and Eastern Visayas PHP295,187. In Mindanao, penalties were reported as PHP3.9 million in Zamboanga Peninsula, PHP1.8 million in Northern Mindanao, PHP453,156 in Davao Region, PHP7.1 million in Soccsksargen, and PHP811,822 in Caraga.