Push Admin

Senate panel defers approval of NIA's proposed 2024 budget

Article (news)

Sherrie Ann Torres, ABS-CBN News

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="Farmers start to plant rice at a field in Barangay Simamla, Virac Catanduanes on November 7, 2020. George Calvelo, ABS-CBN News/File" src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2023/news/09/08/20201107-rolly-aftermath-rice-planting-catanduanes-gc-3345.jpg"/><figcaption>Farmers start to plant rice at a field in Barangay Simamla, Virac Catanduanes on November 7, 2020. George Calvelo, ABS-CBN News/File</figcaption></figure></div>MANILA (UPDATED) — National Irrigation Administration (NIA) officials on Friday failed to convince the Senate Committee on Finance when they presented their proposed ﻿P41.2-billion budget for next year.<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/business/07/07/23/new-irrigation-methods-readied-for-onset-of-el-nio">New irrigation methods readied for onset of El Niño</a></li></ul>The committee’s discontent was initially registered by Sen. Raffy Tulfo, who scored the agency over its failure to provide a consistent irrigation system to farmers.This was despite the yearly budgetary support that Congress gives the agency, the senator said.“Matagal niyo nang ginag*go ang taumbayan... Kaya nga kayo binugdgetan ng bilyun-bilyon eh. Para ayusin niyo po yung irrigation system natin pagdating po sa mga palay na makakatulong po yan sa ating lahat. Hindi eh, imbes na gawin niyo trabaho niyo, kinukurakot niyo po eh,” Tulfo said.Tulfo also questioned NIA’s request to be given P800 million fund for the repair and maintenance of irrigation projects.NIA Administrator Eduardo Eddie Guillen, who is still new to the job, promised to use his full capacity to address the matter.NIA has 10,496 communal irrigation systems. But there are 116,000 hectares of covered lands that have non-operational irrigation systems, Guillen said.“Gaya po ng nabanggit ko noon, humihingi po ako ng exemption sa communal irrigation system sa EO 138 and nag-request din kami ng pondo kasi sayang nga po,” Guillen said.The Department of Agriculture earlier said that NIA should expand its irrigation projects to the 2.2 million hectares of lands.But given the funding limitations, DA’s challenge is for NIA to cover at 1.5 million hectares of lands.But NIA’s resources according to Guillen can only reach to a maximum of 1.3 million hectares, and it will take “80-100 years.&quot;Sen. Koko Pimentel meantime noted NIA’s received P7.1 billion budget for the repair and maintenance of communal irrigation systems for this year, as well as the P7.4 billion requested amount for the same purpose next year.The NIA said they already utilized the more than P3 billion of that.Tulfo later registered his position that it’s not yet time to approve NIA’s budget proposal due to many questions and contradictions.“Ide-defer ko po muna yung approval ng NIA budget until the concerns of this committee have been addressed. Defer muna hanggang sa ma-satisfy po kami kasi pera ng taumbayan yung ipapaubaya namin sa inyo. It’s just proper. Kailangan ma-a-account ninyo nang maayos masiguro na yung pera mapupunta sa farmers at hindi sa bulsa ng Pontio Pilato, Herodes, Barabas, Hestas,” Tulfo said.Sen. Cynthia Villar seconded the position and later declared the budget approval’s deferment.The panel likewise tackled the proposed P1.181 billion budget for next year of the Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA), which ended to its approval in the committee level.

MANILA (UPDATED) — National Irrigation Administration (NIA) officials on Friday failed to convince the Senate Committee on Finance when they presented their proposed ﻿P41.2-billion budget for next year.

Senate panel defers approval of NIA's proposed 2024 budget

News

Entertainment

Lifestyle

Sports

Metro.Style

More

Traffic

Manila

Horoscope

News

Senate panel defers approval of NIA's proposed 2024 budget

Sherrie Ann Torres,

ABS-CBN News

Published Sep 08, 2023 05:26 PM PHT

|

Updated Sep 08, 2023 09:41 PM PHT

Read More:

Senate

senator

senators

Raffy Tulfo

Cynthia Villar

NIA

irrigation

farmers

farmer

National Irrigation Authority

ABS-CBN is the leading media and entertainment company in the Philippines, offering quality content across TV, radio, digital, and film. Committed to public service and promoting Filipino values, ABS-CBN continues to inspire and connect audiences worldwide.

Corporate

Investors

Governance

International Distribution

Corporate

Governance

Investors

International Distribution

NPC Seal of Registration

Privacy Policy

AI Policy

Terms of Service

Advertise with Us

© 2026 ABS-CBN Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

NPC Seal of Registration

Privacy Policy

Terms of Service

AI Policy

Advertise with Us

© 2026 ABS-CBN Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

NPC Seal of Registration

Privacy Policy

Terms of Service

AI Policy

Advertise with Us

© 2026 ABS-CBN Corporation. All Rights Reserved.