All over the country, an estimated 10,000 kilometers of roads, including rural bidges, which would connect farms to the market must be built to boost agricultural production and bring down the price of food to benefit consumers.
Marami pang lugar sa Pilipinas na walang kalsada papunta sa mga bukid o tinatawag na Farm-To-Market Road at gumagamit pa ng kabayo o kalabaw ang mga magsasaka para mahakot ang kanilang mga produkto.
When I assumed office, I ordered an inventory and geo-mapping of all farm to market roads which needed to be built to facilitate the movement of agricultural products.
An estimated 14,000-kms. of farm to market roads needed to built when President Rodrigo Duterte started his 6-year term, according to the inventory which was backed up by geo-maps.
As the Agriculture Secretary, I wanted the Rural Roads and Infrastructure Program to be one of the banner programs
of the Duterte Administration.
Ito ang isa sa mga priority projects na hiniling ko sa mga Economic Managers na bigyan ng pansin at maisama sa bantog na “Build, Build, Build” Program ng ating gobyerno.
Ang proposal ko was to divide the 14,000-kms. into six and with an estimated budget of about P10-M per kilometer, the FMR and rural bridges program should get an allocation of P30-B per year.
By the end of the term of President Duterte, dapat tapos ang lahat ng FMRs at malilit na tulay.
Ang sabi ko sa mga Economic Managers, kung meron kayong “Build, Build, Build” Program na nagpapagawa ng mga naglalakihang infrastructure projects, baka puedeng meron din na “build, build, build” in small letters.
Hindi kami napagbigyan and what was given to the Department of Agriculture was a measly budget for FMRs every year good for about 1,000-kms. which were implemented by the Dept. of Public Works and Highways.
So, sa regular budget every year, nakatapos din ang DPWH ng humigit kumulang 4,000-kms. over the last five years, leaving a backlog of about 10,000-kms.
If by God’s grace, we would be successful in our quest for a seat in the Philippine Senate, I would move for the passage of a National Rural Roads and Bridges Development Act to address this age-old problem affecting the productivity of our farmers.
Under the next President, focus must now shift to the rural food production areas because by supporting agricultural activities, we will be creating thousands of jobs that our people need to be able to recover from the economic devastation of the COVID 19 Pandemic.
Once and for all, tapusin na natin ito para makaramdam naman ng kaginhawaan ang ating mga magsasaka na syang nagpapakain sa ating mga mamamayan.
#KungGustoMaramingParaan!
#GovernanceIsCommonSense!
(This video was taken in the portions of the Alicia-Olutanga Road in Zamboanga Sibugay where I passed through during a visit to Olutanga Island when I was MinDA Chairman. Trucks loaded with copra and other agricultural products were stuck in the mud for as long as three days. I called the attention of DPWH which in turn required the contractor to fasttrack the construction. The road is now completed and paved with concrete and the transport of goods is less expensive and faster..)
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