Some 75 kilometers of farm-to-market roads have been built during the first six months of President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr., Malacañang said on Tuesday.

According to the Office of the Press Secretary, the Department of Public Works and Highways built the roads through the budget from the Agriculture Department as part of the President's pledge to help farmers transport their harvest to public markets.

For Marcos, prioritizing farm-to-market road projects to strengthen the farming industry by providing the farmers with quality infrastructure support.

These measures, he said, could boost local food production of agricultural commodities and make them affordable for consumers amid the looming food crisis and inflation.

Citing its year-end report, the OPS said DPWH built, upgraded, and rehabilitated a total of 112 bridges, 650 flood control structures, and 2,575 public school buildings from July to November this year.

It added that it has constructed, maintained, and rehabilitated 1,105 kilometers of roads in the same period.

This year, the DPWH did not only develop infrastructure facilities but also played a role in disaster response during the several earthquakes and typhoons that pummeled different parts of the country.

In its report to Malacañang, the agency said it deployed at least 7,000 personnel to help in the search, rescue, and relief efforts like in the aftermath of the magnitude 7.3 earthquake in Abra province.

It also dispatched 1,711 pieces of equipment and cleared 168 road sections in multiple provinces from Luzon to Mindanao, the OPS said.

Major infrastructure projects

The DPWH noted its major infrastructure projects — the Cavite-Laguna Expressway, NLEX-SLEX Connector Road, Central Luzon Link Expressway, Cagayan de Oro River Flood Management project, Samar-Pacific Coastal Road and the Mindanao Growth Corridor Road Sector Project.

They also worked on the road network development projects in conflict-affected areas in Mindanao, Laguna-Lakeshore Road Network, Bataan-Cavite Interlink Bridge, Panguil Bay Bridge, Samal Island-Davao City Bridge and the Davao City Bypass Construction project.

Priorities

For 2023, the DPWH seeks to decongest traffic through the construction of high-standard highways and expressways, bypasses, diversion roads, flyovers and interchanges.

It is also involved in the Integrated and Seamless Transport System Program such as improving the Daang Maharlika, construction of inter-island linkages and mega bridges, and connecting gaps along national roads.

The DPWH is set to construct and upgrade access roads leading to tourism destinations, industry and trade corridors, RORO ports, airports, and railway stations.