The provincial government of Bataan and the Department of Agrcitulture – Philippine Rural Development Project (DA-PRDP) spearheaded the groundbreaking ceremony of the Sitio Nazareno-Culis farm-to-market road (FMR) in Hermosa, Bataan.

The 5.72-kilometer FMR will support the hauling of a variety of commodities such as mango, coconuts, banana, and upland vegetables. “We take pride of this subproject because our products from the uplands will soon be easier to transport to the market,” said Hermosa Mayor Antonio Joseph Inton.

The current condition of the road makes it impossible for delivery trucks to pick up the farmers’ products during the rainy season and limit their market only in the local area due to high cost of transportation. The FMR rehabilitation aims to address these constraints and is expected to reduce the input and hauling cost and the travel time by 50 percent.

“The main objective of this subproject is to connect our agricultural produce from the two barangays—Sitio Nazareno and Culis and efficiently transport them to trading centers and markets,” said Regional Project Coordination Office 3 (RPCO 3) I-BUILD Component Head Engr. Elmer Tubig. “We expect our contractor, the Vikings Construction, to efficiently complete the subproject within the set construction period to be able to uplift the social and economic condition of our beneficiaries as soon as possible,” Tubig added.

In her message, Project Support Office – North Luzon Cluster Deputy Project Director Elma Mananes urged the beneficiaries to partake in monitoring of the subproject. “In PRDP, we want to involve you, the beneficiaries, in the monitoring of the construction. We have a grievance hotline in case you experience or observe any bad practices in the construction of the FMR,” said Mananes. (Ram Bill Bautista, RPCO 3 InfoACE)