MANILA — The administration of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. has vowed swift action on reports of anomalous farm-to-market road projects in Mindanao, even as investigations continue into ghost and substandard flood control projects nationwide.
According to the Department of Agriculture (DA), several farm-to-market roads in Davao Occidental and Zamboanga del Norte — reportedly built under the supervision of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) in 2021 and 2022 — were found to be either unusable or non-existent.
The matter has been formally brought to the DPWH, which is now looking into the alleged irregularities, Presidential Communications Office Undersecretary and Palace Press Officer Claire Castro said in a Tuesday press briefing at Malacañang.
“Nakausap ko rin si Secretary Vince kaninang umaga, at sinabi niya na ito din ay tinututukan nila dahil dapat ito ay magawan talaga ng paraan sa lalong madaling panahon,” Castro said, referring to DPWH Secretary Vince Dizon.
She stressed that the Marcos administration will closely monitor all infrastructure projects flagged for anomalies — not only flood control works but across all sectors.
In Davao Occidental, the DA found that some farm-to-market roads reported as completed did not actually exist. Meanwhile, in Zamboanga del Norte, a project described as finished was discovered to be substandard, with the road unpaved and effectively unusable.
The discovery follows President Marcos’ issuance of Executive Order No. 94 on September 11, which created the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) — a fact-finding body tasked to investigate corruption, irregularities, and misuse of funds in government flood control and related projects.
The ICI’s mandate underscores the administration’s broader effort to ensure transparency, accountability, and integrity in the implementation of publicly funded infrastructure programs.
