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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Farm-to-market roads will no longer be built based on 'palakasan'—Marcos

Farm-to-market roads will no longer be built based on 'palakasan'—Marcos

Published Oct 14, 2025 03:07 pm
President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. holds a dialogue with farmers in Claveria, Cagayan on Oct. 14, 2025. (RTVM)
President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. holds a dialogue with farmers in Claveria, Cagayan on Oct. 14, 2025. (RTVM)
There will no longer be "palakasan" or influence peddling in the construction of farm-to-market roads in the country, President Marcos said, citing that this practice has often led to misplaced and unhelpful projects.
Marcos said due to the "palakasan" system, there have been agricultural roads built without proper planning, which later ended up unhelpful to farmers.
It will no longer be the case now, he vowed, as the government has come up with a national plan for farm-to-market roads.
"Hindi lang yung kagaya ng dati na palakasan lang. Nakikiusap lang, 'Oh, lagyan ko ng farm-to-market road dito.' ‘Pag medyo kaibigan, ‘pag medyo kapartido, 'oh sige, approved' (Not like before when it was all about connections and favoritism. Someone would just ask, ‘Oh, can you build a farm-to-market road here?’ If they happened to be friends or from the same party, it would be, ‘All right, approved')," Marcos said during a dialogue with farmers in Claveria, Cagayan on Tuesday, Oct. 14.
"Walang plano. Kung minsan, kung saan-saan napupunta ang farm-to-market road na hindi naman nakakatulong sa ating mga magsasaka (No proper planning. Sometimes, the farm-to-market roads ended up in places where they didn't even help our farmers)," Marcos added.
The national plan for agricultural roads would ensure that the roads built would serve their real purpose—to help farmers transport their produce to the markets faster.
"Nakagawa na po tayo ng plano para sa buong Pilipinas sa farm-to-market road (We have already created a plan for farm-to-market roads across the entire Philippines)," he told the farmers.
"Kaya’t ito’y inaayos na natin. Ginawan natin ng sistema para lahat ng ilalagay nating farm-to-market road ay makakatulong sa mabilis na pagdala ng inyong ani sa ating mga palengke (That’s why we are now fixing this. We have established a system to ensure that every farm-to-market road we build will help speed up the transport of your harvests to our markets)," he vowed.
According to Palace Press Officer and Communications Undersecretary Claire Castro, the President aims to implement the plan before his term ends.

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President Marcos farm-to-market roads agriculture
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