The Department of Agriculture (DA) on Friday launched a new online platform aimed at boosting transparency and accountability in the implementation of farm-to-market road (FMR) projects nationwide.
Dubbed the FMR Watch portal, the platform allows the public to monitor the real-time status of DA infrastructure projects, according to Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr.
“Makikita ng publiko, mga magsasaka, mga mangingisda, LGUs, citizens watch dogs kung saan dapat makita ang mga kalsada, kung paano umusad ang mga proyekto at kung tama ba talaga ang implementasyon. No smoke, no mirrors — just maps, data and accountability,” Laurel said.
“Today we are not just launching a web portal – we are restoring trust when public funds are spent to build roads and not private fortunes,” he added.
Laurel said the DA is set to manage ₱33 billion worth of FMR projects in 2026, with a target of constructing over 2,300 kilometers of farm-to-market roads.
“Hindi lang ito semento, ito ay landas patungo sa mas mababang produksyon, mas mataas na kita para sa ating mga magsasaka at mga mangingisda, mas abot kayang pagkain at pangmatagalang kasaganaan sa kanayunan,” he said.
The DA chief noted that the agency can now directly download FMR funds to local government units, bid out projects at the regional level, and tap the Department of Public Works and Highways for hard-to-reach areas.
“Magha-hire kami ng mga reputable third party auditors in order to certify itong mga kalye na nagawa ay tapos, tamang-haba, tamang-kalidad at tamang-lapad,” Laurel said.
He clarified that the FMR Watch portal differs from the Sumbong sa Pangulo platform, as it is directly managed by the DA and will be used by both the public and the agriculture secretary for real-time monitoring.
“Ang kaibahan nito ay diretso sa amin ito. Pangalawa, yan din ang gagamitin ko as the secretary to monitor yung FMR, so kung ano yung nakikita ko, yan din ang makikita ng publiko. So para synchronized ho tayo lahat real time and ang maganda rito, since kami yung may hawak ng program, we will continuously develop this para maging mas efficient. Eventually, ila-live pati yung mga biddings,” Laurel said.
He added that while the DA can validate suspected ghost projects, findings will still be reported to the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI).
“If ICI is still there, I think if we have findings, we will still have to report to ICI for verification and maybe sila na yung mag-aakyat to a higher level kung on how to proceed assuming meron kaming nakitang issues,” Laurel said.