Former Agriculture Secretary Leony Montemayor is raising alarm over the quality of farm machinery being distributed to Filipino farmers, saying a decision to relax supplier pre-qualification standards six to seven years ago has left farmer cooperatives with tractors that break down easily and no reliable after-sales support.
Montemayor, now head of the Federation of Free Farmers (FFF), expressed his concern in an interview on DZRH News program Special on Saturday on April 25, pointing to Philippine Center for Postharvest Development and Mechanization (PhilMech) — the DA’s agricultural mechanization agency — which he said carries a ₱5-billion annual budget for the procurement of various farm machinery, including heavy tractors.
He said that before the standards were changed, only established suppliers with proven track records, service centers, spare parts availability, and on-call technicians were pre-qualified to bid — a system he described as producing reliable equipment and dependable service for farmers.
“Noon ang pre-qualified na pwedeng mag-bid at mag-supply ng heavy tractors ay ‘yung established at kilala na ng mga machinery suppliers at tsaka mayroon na po silang track record,” Montemayor said, adding that these suppliers had sales centers, spare parts, and technicians readily available when equipment broke down.
But that changed when the pre-qualification requirements were loosened, allowing newer suppliers with unproven after-sales service capability and unproven spare parts distribution systems to participate in and win government bids.
The consequences, Montemayor said, are now being felt directly by farmers. “Marami pong reklamo na madaling masira ‘yung equipment,” he said, noting that when farmers or their cooperatives call for a technician, response is slow — if it comes at all — and spare parts are not readily available.
He lamented that what should have been a well-designed program for farmers has been undermined by poor procurement decisions. “Ang ganda na sana ng programa, pero ang laki po ng aberya gawa po sa ganitong klaseng pamamalakad,” Montemayor said.
Montemayor called the situation a double loss — for farmers who are left with idle, broken equipment during critical planting and harvest periods, and for the government whose limited public funds are being spent on machinery that fails to deliver its intended purpose.
