President Marcos has transferred back the supervision of the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) from the Department of Agriculture (DA) to the Office of the President (OP).
Through Executive Order No. 69, Marcos moved NIA anew to his office and ordered its reorganization.
The NIA Board was reorganized and shall now be composed of a representative from the OP, NIA administrator, secretaries of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), DA, National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), and a representative from the private sector who will be appointed by the President.
According to Marcos, it is imperative to streamline the functional relationships of agencies with complementary mandates in order to promote coordination, efficiency, and coherence.
"[I]rrigation management and development is vital towards achieving food security and ensuring infrastructure development in the country, which are among the Administration's priority initiatives," Marcos said in the EO.
"[I]t is imperative to streamline and rationalize the functional relationships of agencies with complementary mandates in order to promote coordination, efficiency, and coherence within the bureaucracy," the President added.
NIA, a government-owned or -controlled corporation (GOCC), was attached to the Office of the President "to investigate, study, improve and administer all national irrigation systems in the Philippines."
In 2022, EO No. 168 transferred the attachment of the NIA from OP to the DA, and directed the Governance Commission for GOCCs to study the reorganization of the NIA Board of Directors.