ABUCAY, Bataan — The National Irrigation Administration (NIA) on Friday said here that it needed millions and millions of pesos to complete the construction of irrigation facilities for remaining potential irrigable areas in the country.
Filipina Bermudez, NIA’s department manager of public affairs and information, said there are 3.1 million hectares of potential irrigable area in the Philippines out of which 1.7 million hectares or 61 percent have already been irrigated.
“Milyon-milyon piso pa ang kailangan dahil mahigit P30 million lang ang nadadagdag sa pondo namin sa nakalipas na mga taon o halos 2 percent lang taontaon ang nadadagdag. Malaki pa ang kailangan nating pondo para matapos lahat ang irrigable area,” she said.
Bemudez said their projects depend on the funds allocated for the agency.
“Meron kaming National Irrigation Master Plan na kung saan nakalatag doon taon-taon ang gagawin namin para ma-attain hindi 100 percent kundi 70 percent ang matapos namin hopefully sa pagtatapos ng term ni President Duterte kung bibigyan kami ng pondo,” she said.
“Sa pondo nakasalalay talaga. Kahit gustuhin namin, kung ito lang ang allocation ng Department of Budget and Management wala kaming magagawa dahil doon lang kami nagba- base kung ilang ektarya ang aming ipo-program taon-taon,” Bermudez stressed.
Bermudez represented retired Gen. Ricardo Visaya, NIA administrator, in the Second Stakeholders’ Forum in Bataan held in Abucay town.
Bataan 2nd District Rep. Jose Enrique Garcia III asked NIA and the farmers to prepare a 10-year master plan on irrigation for the projects to be properly funded.
Josephine Salazar, NIA Region 3 manager, presented the overview and rationale of the forum while Isabelito Bitangcol, acting Irrigation Management Office chief in Bataan and Pampanga, dealt on the status of irrigation projects in the province.
Bitangcol said that of the 18,577 hectares of potential irrigable area in Bataan, 41.28 percent or 7,668 hectares have been irrigated.
He said that Region 3 composed of Aurora, Bulacan, Bataan, Pampanga, Nueva Ecija and Zambales have an overall irrigation completion of 57 percent.
