Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel said farm-to-market road projects funded this year are now subject to a revised and transparent costing system, rejecting claims by civil society groups that many projects were improperly priced.
During a press briefing in Malacañang, Tiu Laurel said the Department of Agriculture (DA), which is now directly implementing the projects, has developed new cost estimates after consulting private sector stakeholders.
He said the updated figures will be presented to major construction firms in a meeting scheduled next week.
“I already have a new costing,” Tiu Laurel said. “I have consulted the private sector on this, and we will have a meeting with the most reputable construction companies by next week so that we can present our figures to them.”
Tiu Laurel said the DA’s initial estimate places the cost of farm-to-market roads at about P14.5 million per kilometer, value-added tax included and with drainage canals already factored in.
This is significantly lower than the previous P18 million per kilometer costing used under earlier Department of Public Works and Highways projects, he said.
The agriculture chief acknowledged that past farm-to-market road projects were criticized for being overpriced but stressed that safeguards are now in place to prevent a repeat of issues that have plagued other infrastructure programs.
“My name and the name of our President are written here, and the President’s directive to all of us is very clear: keep it clean and do it fast,” Tiu Laurel said.
To ensure transparency, he said the DA will launch an interactive Farm-to-Market Road Watch portal next week, which will be presented to agriculture beat reporters.
The platform will allow the public, civil society groups, and netizens to monitor the status of every project nationwide.
Tiu Laurel added that civil society organizations are already meeting with DA officials and are set to sign a memorandum of agreement to help monitor implementation.
