“Keep it clean, do it fast.”

President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. has instructed the Department of Agriculture (DA), now fully responsible for farm-to-market road (FMR) projects, to ensure their construction is conducted with integrity and efficiency, reflecting the administration’s commitment to accountability and transparency.

“Unang-una, pangalan ko po at pangalan ng ating Pangulo ang nakataya dito at ang ating Pangulo ay talagang malinaw ang direktiba sa aming lahat: ‘Keep it clean, do it fast,” DA Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said during a Palace press briefing on Thursday, as he thanked President Marcos for the higher DA allocation under the PhP6.79 trillion 2026 General Appropriations Act (GAA).

Under the 2026 national budget, the DA has been allocated PhP215 billion, underscoring the administration’s strong commitment to food security, rural development, and agricultural productivity.

With the President’s directive in place, Tiu Laurel stressed that the DA will ensure that the implementation of FMR projects will not repeat the anomalies previously associated with flood control projects.

He assured the public that FMR projects will be subject to proper costing, moving away from the uniform costing practices used in previous administrations.

Tiu Laurel added that he has already reached out to the private sector and has held meetings with reputable companies to review project cost figures, emphasizing that these measures are intended to prevent overpricing and ensure transparency.

“Actually as of today, nagmi-meet ngayon sa office namin iyong civil society groups that are willing to sign a MOA with them to help us monitor this and it will be so transparent, every single Filipino can actually go to this portal and see what is happening to every single road na ginagawa,” Tiu Laurel said. | PND