MANILA, Philippines — 75 kilometers of farm-to-markets roads have been completed by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) in the second half of the year, making transport of goods from farmers to traders and consumers more convenient.
In a statement, Press Undersecretary Cheloy Garafil said the roads were funded by a budget provided by the Department of Agriculure (DA) and were built from July to November.
President Marcos, who heads the DA, cited the need to construct farm-to-market roads to ensure adequate and affordable food supply.
Earlier this month, the President said a joint administrative order on the construction of farm-to-market roads was expected to be signed this year.
The joint order will provide guidelines to make all farm-to-market roads interconnected with other infrastructure projects.
A total of 43,223.17 kilometers have been proposed for the farm-to-market roads as of October.
Citing a DPWH report, Garafil said the agency has built, upgraded and rehabilitated 112 bridges, 650 flood control structures and 2,575 school buildings since July.
A total of 1,105 kilometers of roads were constructed, maintained and rehabilitated from July to November this year, the report added.
The DPWH’s major infrastructure projects include the Cavite-Laguna Expressway, NLEX-SLEX Connector Road, Central Luzon Link Expressway, Cagayan de Oro River Flood Management project, Samar-Pacific Coastal Road, the Mindanao Growth Corridor Road Sector Project, road network development projects in conflict-affected areas in Mindanao, the Laguna-Lakeshore Road Network, Bataan-Cavite Interlink Bridge, Panguil Bay Bridge, Samal Island-Davao City Bridge and the Davao City Bypass Construction project.
The DPWH also joined other agencies in responding to disasters, including the magnitude 7.3 earthquake that hit Abra in July.
The agency said it deployed more than 7,000 personnel, dispatched 1,711 pieces of equipment and cleared 168 road sections in areas affected by earthquakes and typhoons.
The agency is embarking on a traffic decongestion program through building high-standard highways and expressways, bypasses, diversion roads, flyovers and interchanges.
The DPWH is also improving the Daang Maharlika, building inter-island linkages and mega bridges and connecting gaps along national roads as part of the Integrated and Seamless Transport System Program.
It aims to construct and upgrade access roads leading to tourism destinations, industry and trade corridors, roll-on-roll-off ports, airports and railway stations.