DA shakes up farm-to-market road process
The Department of Agriculture (DA) is overhauling the bidding process for farm-to-market road (FMR) projects nationwide to ensure transparency and proper implementation.
Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said the DA is planning to bid out contracts per province instead of awarding contracts per road, hoping to attract major entities to undertake such projects.
Tiu Laurel said the bidding process will be streamed live so that the public can witness the entire procedure.
“We need to implement it to show people that we mean business. We will do this properly,” the agriculture chief said in a recent interview.
Another approach the agency is considering is entering into a memorandum of agreement with capable local government units (LGUs).
Under this arrangement, the DA will oversee the development, while the LGU will manage the entire process—from bidding to execution.
“We will probably download the funds for FMR to the LGU. They will implement it,” Tiu Laurel said.
Apart from that, the DA will commission a third-party entity to audit FMR projects, which the agency will formally take over from the Department of Public Works and Highways starting next year.
“Number one is because it was endorsed to us all of a sudden. We’re not necessarily totally ready to implement, but technically, we can audit. We will get a third-party to audit,” he said.
Further, the DA will sign a memorandum of agreement with farmer cooperatives and groups to help the DA monitor these projects.
