02/01/2026
Agriculture Secretary Francisco P. Tiu Laurel Jr. has ordered a comprehensive review of an ambitious goat breeding program launched under the Duterte administration but left chronically underfunded, after state auditors flagged widespread animal deaths linked to poor care.
The review will determine whether the Department of Agriculture (DA) should continue the program, particularly the upgrading of small ruminants project based at the Pangasinan Research and Experiment Center in Sual, Pangasinan. Tiu Laurel said the assessment will look at both the program’s technical viability and the resources required to sustain it.
The Commission on Audit (COA), in its 2024 annual audit report on the DA, noted that 52 of the 101 Anglo Nubian and Saanen goats purchased for the project had died. The animals were intended to serve as breeder stock for high-quality ruminants, but COA attributed the deaths to inadequate feeding and nutrition.
