PH needs P2 trillion to mitigate El Niño impact — NIA
By Raymund Antonio and Raymund Antonio
Published Apr 18, 2023 08:25 am
The Philippines would need P2 trillion to irrigate some 1.2 million hectares of potentially irrigable areas in the country, National Irrigation Administration (NIA) Acting Administrator Eduardo Guillen said on Tuesday, April 18.
(Photo courtesy of Bloomberg/Getty Images)
During a media briefing hosted by press briefer Daphne Oseña-Paez, the NIA official stressed the need for more investments in irrigation so as to address the potential adverse impacts of El Niño in the country’s agricultural sector. He discussed the needed budget for the irrigable areas, but admitted that NIA’s recent proposal was for only P200 billion a year. “Actually, ang natitirang potentially irrigable areas natin 1.2 million hectares. Kailangan niyan P2 trillion lahat pero ang proposal lamang po natin is sana P200 billion a year para madali naman ito ma-attain. Ang proposal po namin is P100 billion a year na pondo sa NIA (Actually, our remaining potentially irrigable areas is 1.2 million hectares. It needs P2 trillion in total but our proposal is hopefully P200 billion a year for this to be easily attainable. Our proposal is 100 billion a year of fund for NIA),” Guillen said. He revealed that President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. had already instructed him to “compress” the country’s irrigation plans from the supposed 80-year timeline into 10 years. To do this, the NIA official stressed the need for additional budget as the agency needs P100 billion a year. “Kung makagawa tayo ng P100 billion (worth of) projects a year ay sa loob lamang 10 taon ma-irrigate po natin iyong lahat ng potential areas (If we can complete 100 billion projects a year, we can irrigate all potential areas in just 10 years),“ Guillen explained. Admitting that the country is in a state of “drought,” the NIA official shared that the agency has reduced its requirement for irrigation in rice crops and is considering increasing the required production for regions with better weather like in Mindanao. NIA would also need to tap the DPWH for short-term solutions as it also proposes for the department to convert its flood control projects into water management projects because it is the “best” way to control flooding. Meanwhile, Oseña-Paez also shared that Marcos “tasked select government agencies to come up with a campaign to generate public awareness to conserve water and energy, among others to mitigate the effects of the El Niño phenomenon.” This came after a sectoral meeting that Marcos attended to discuss the effects of El Niño and how the National Disaster Reduction and Risk Management Council (NDRRMC) can address the potential issues arising from it.
(Photo courtesy of Bloomberg/Getty Images)
During a media briefing hosted by press briefer Daphne Oseña-Paez, the NIA official stressed the need for more investments in irrigation so as to address the potential adverse impacts of El Niño in the country’s agricultural sector. He discussed the needed budget for the irrigable areas, but admitted that NIA’s recent proposal was for only P200 billion a year. “Actually, ang natitirang potentially irrigable areas natin 1.2 million hectares. Kailangan niyan P2 trillion lahat pero ang proposal lamang po natin is sana P200 billion a year para madali naman ito ma-attain. Ang proposal po namin is P100 billion a year na pondo sa NIA (Actually, our remaining potentially irrigable areas is 1.2 million hectares. It needs P2 trillion in total but our proposal is hopefully P200 billion a year for this to be easily attainable. Our proposal is 100 billion a year of fund for NIA),” Guillen said. He revealed that President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. had already instructed him to “compress” the country’s irrigation plans from the supposed 80-year timeline into 10 years. To do this, the NIA official stressed the need for additional budget as the agency needs P100 billion a year. “Kung makagawa tayo ng P100 billion (worth of) projects a year ay sa loob lamang 10 taon ma-irrigate po natin iyong lahat ng potential areas (If we can complete 100 billion projects a year, we can irrigate all potential areas in just 10 years),“ Guillen explained. Admitting that the country is in a state of “drought,” the NIA official shared that the agency has reduced its requirement for irrigation in rice crops and is considering increasing the required production for regions with better weather like in Mindanao. NIA would also need to tap the DPWH for short-term solutions as it also proposes for the department to convert its flood control projects into water management projects because it is the “best” way to control flooding. Meanwhile, Oseña-Paez also shared that Marcos “tasked select government agencies to come up with a campaign to generate public awareness to conserve water and energy, among others to mitigate the effects of the El Niño phenomenon.” This came after a sectoral meeting that Marcos attended to discuss the effects of El Niño and how the National Disaster Reduction and Risk Management Council (NDRRMC) can address the potential issues arising from it.