President Marcos wants to add more large dams in the country, and not just revive them, National Irrigation Administration (NIA) chief Eduardo Guillen said.
(MB File Photo)
Guillen said there are currently three dams in Luzon that have already secured funding and are ready for their upgrade to be implemented.
These will be located in Tarlac, Ilocos Norte-Ilocos Sur-Abra, and Isabela.
"Hindi lang gustong i-revive, gusto niyang dagdagan actually (He does not only want to revive them but to actually add more)," Guillen said in an interview on Tuesday, Jan. 21, noting that high dams like the Pantabangan and Magat dams have been around for 50 years now, thus the need to add more.
"But moving forward, may tatlong dams na gustong—pinondohan po, talagang ginawan ng paraan ng ating Pangulo na mapondohan, local fund (there are three dams that are being funded through local funding, which the President were able to secure)," Guillen added.
Balog-Balog Dam in Tarlac is one of the three dams that are expected to be completed under Marcos' term. It's upgrade, he said, would cover 32,000 to 34,000 hectares for irrigation.
Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, Abra Irrigation Project will also be upgraded with an additional area of around 12,000 hectares. It will be able to generate around 18 to 20 megawatts.
The other dam project which got funding was the Tumauini Dam in Isabela. It will have an additional 8,000 to 10,000 hectares and has a power generation of 7 megawatts.
"[I]yong mga high dams natin ay multi-purpose iyan, iyan ang sinasabi ng ating Pangulo e. Sabi niya, dito tayo mag-invest sa water management, kasi sabi niya kapag dito tayo nag-invest, mayroon ka nang production na ma-increase sa pagkain natin, may power generation pa, may aquaculture, may tourism pa, may bulk water pa na bonus (Those high dams are multi-purpose, that's what the President was saying. He said we must invest in water management because investing in it could lead to increase in food production, power generation, aquaculture, tourism, and bulk water)," the NIA administrator said.
Guillen said the projects are now up for bidding, and construction would take five years.
Last week, Marcos made a commitment to provide adequate funds for the NIA as the President said he is bent on building large dams in the country.
Under NIA's 2025 programs, activities and projects, the agency allocated P20.84 billion for the Pump Irrigation Sub-Program and P7.88 billion for Stage 2 of the Ilocos Norte-Ilocos Sub-Abra Irrigation Project.
Earmarked for the Balog-Balog Multipurpose Project Phase II in Tarlac was P2.49 billion while P99.5 million was set aside for the Special Irrigation Sub-Program.