Metro Manila, Philippines – President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said there will be no more “palakasan [patronage]” in carrying out farm-to-market roads (FMRs) as the administration cracks down on corruption.
“Yung sinusunod natin na plano, hindi lang ‘yung kagaya ng dati na palakasan lang, nakikiusap lang, oh lagyan ko ng farm-to-market road dito,” Marcos told farmers in Cagayan during the inauguration of the union water impounding dam in Barangay Union and Cadcadir in Claveria on Tuesday, Oct. 14.
“Pag medyo kaibigan, pag medyo kapartido, sige approved — walang plano,” he said, adding that some farm-to-market roads supposedly do not help farmers.
[Translation: The plan that we are following is not like the one before that was based on patronage. If they were friends or party-list members, instantly approved — no plan.]
The Marcos administration has a FMR network plan covering over 131,000 kilometers.
The chief executive vowed to consult further with local chief executives for better placement of FMRs.
FMRs have been flagged for alleged corruption, thus Sen. Win Gatchalian urged the blue ribbon committee and the Independent Commission for Infrastructure to expand its probe to include these roads.
During the budget hearing for the Department of Agriculture (DA), Gatchalian flagged over P10 billion in alleged overpriced projects in the 2023 and 2024 budgets of the agency.
On Oct. 10, Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said the DA will take over such projects from the Department of Public Works and Highways.
Tiu Laurel said the DA will work with local governments, farmers groups, and independent auditors and third party surveyors for the construction.
“If we’re going to build roads, they must lead to farms, not fraud,” Tiu Laurel told senators.
The DA conducted its own probe on FMRs, with an initial report already sent to Marcos. It said at least seven projects in Davao Occidental were “ghost” or non-existent.
