MANILA — President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. has ordered the Department of Agriculture (DA), which now oversees farm-to-market road (FMR) projects, to ensure that construction is carried out with integrity and completed swiftly, as part of the administration’s commitment to accountability and transparency.

Speaking at a Malacañang press briefing on Thursday, DA Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said the directive reflects the President’s clear stance on clean and efficient implementation of infrastructure projects, as he thanked Marcos for the higher allocation given to the agency under the ₱6.793-trillion 2026 General Appropriations Act.

“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,” Tiu Laurel said.

Under the proposed 2026 national budget, around ₱215 billion has been allocated to the DA, underscoring the administration’s focus on food security, rural development, and agricultural productivity.

Following the President’s directive, Tiu Laurel said the DA would ensure that the implementation of FMR projects would not repeat anomalies previously linked to flood control projects.

He assured the public that all FMR projects would undergo proper costing and that the agency would avoid uniform costing practices used in previous administrations.

Tiu Laurel added that he has already engaged with the private sector and met with established companies to review project costs, stressing that these measures are intended to prevent overpricing and ensure transparency.

“Actually as of today, magmi-meet ngayon sa office naming 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,” he said.