Most Filipinos reading this news article may not be around anymore once the government completes all the farm-to-market roads (FMRs) that it plans to build.
During the House plenary debate on the proposed 2023 budget of the Department of Agriculture (DA), the budget sponsor, Isabela 1st district Rep. Tonypet Albano, revealed that the Philippines needs over 72,000 kilometers worth of FMRs.
"We require actually 72,797.172 kilometers," Albano said during the interpellation of minority bloc member Basilan lone district Rep. Mujiv Hataman.
"We actually require P1 trillion to complete the 72,000 kilometers based on the budget that we give which is an annual trend of P9 billion," the sponsor said.
Albano then noted that "It will take us 122 years to cover the estimated unpaved roads from these FMRs."
"Kelan tayo nag-umpisa, ilang years na tayo? (When did we start, and how many years have we invested?)" Hataman asked.
"Since 2000 ang umpisa (It began in 2000)" Albano said. This means that the country’s FMR backlog would take roughly another 100 years to complete, based on the sponsor's computation.
Albano further told Hataman that in the last three years, the government has managed to finish "almost 1,972 kilometers" of FMRs.
FMRs are supposed to aid Filipino farmers since they provide them with a direct route to commercial centers.