The Department of Agriculture (DA) has established an internal watchdog unit to monitor its infrastructure projects, including farm-to-market roads (FMRs), to ensure proper implementation and prevent substandard or unfinished projects.

Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel issued Department Order (DO) No. 22 to establish the interim Social and Environmental Safeguards (SES) unit as the focal mechanism for coordinating, harmonizing, and monitoring SES implementation.

The SES was adopted from the systems recommended by the Philippine Rural Development Project (PRDP) to be integrated into the DA’s operations.

Under the PRDP, the SES unit will implement environmental assessments, social risk reviews, and stakeholder engagement protocols into the agency’s programs.

Also central to its mandate is overseeing the monitoring of infrastructure projects to ensure their responsible implementation, aimed at boosting productivity, raising farmers’ incomes, and improving competitiveness.

Tiu Laurel said this is especially relevant as the development of FMRs will return to the DA beginning next year, following the program’s controversy-riddled stint at the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).

“The recent controversy surrounding flood control projects underscores why we need a strong safeguards system,” said Tiu Laurel. “We cannot afford gray areas or blind spots.”

“This watchdog unit ensures that every DA project is transparent, accountable, and fully aligned with environmental and social standards,” he added.

The DA has so far uncovered eight non-existent FMR projects worth around ₱100 million based on an ongoing audit inspired by the massive corruption scandal at the DPWH involving flood control projects.

Last month, Tiu Laurel said the government would save at least 20 percent in construction costs as his department assumes control of building FMRs.

Based on the government’s FMR roadmap, some 130,000 kilometers of roads are needed to improve the movement of produce from farms to markets.

Latest estimates, however, show that more than 60,000 kilometers remain unbuilt.

Alongside FMRs, the DA has also earmarked funding to construct food hubs, cold storage facilities, and rice mills.

Tiu Laurel said the SES unit will also craft a department-wide SES institutionalization roadmap that is seen to embed safeguards into every stage of project planning and procurement.

He said this roadmap will harmonize standards and ensure compliance with national regulations and development-partner requirements.

“With billions of pesos in rural infrastructure in the pipeline, the department aims to minimize environmental risks, protect communities, and close compliance gaps that have historically slowed projects,” the secretary said.