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'Puro kayo simula!': Villar fumes at National Irrigation Administration over unfinished projects

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Johnson Manabat, ABS-CBN News

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="Sen. Cynthia Villar, chairperson of the Committee on Agriculture, Food, and Agrarian Reform. Joseph Vidal, Senate PRIB/file" src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2023/life/01/09/20221212-ph-senate-cynthia-villar-sprib-2.jpg"/><figcaption>Sen. Cynthia Villar, chairperson of the Committee on Agriculture, Food, and Agrarian Reform. Joseph Vidal, Senate PRIB/file</figcaption></figure></div>MANILA — Sen. Cynthia Villar on Thursday grilled officials of the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) during the budget deliberation of the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) and its attached agencies at the Senate.<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/business/10/16/23/nia-says-realigned-budget-will-help-irrigate-more-fields">NIA says realigned budget will help irrigate more rice fields</a></li></ul>Villar is the chairperson of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Food and Agrarian Reform.DAR’s proposed budget for fiscal year 2024 is P9.393 billion, which is P1.9 billion lower than its 2023 budget.Villar was visibly irked when she found out that most of the irrigation projects of NIA are not yet finished, and most of them are only 10 percent completed.According to Villar, some of these projects include the 2013 Bagtingon small reservoir irrigation in Marinduque, with only 7 percent completion as well as the Balog-Balog dam project in the province of Tarlac, which only 50 percent completed until today.Villar added that most of NIA’s projects in 2018 are only in 10 percent completion, like the Bayawan small reservoir in Pangasinan and Cabano small reservoir in Guimaras.<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/08/02/23/nia-called-out-for-unfinished-projects-including-dam-in-tarlac">NIA called out for unfinished projects, including decades-old dam in Tarlac</a></li></ul>“Itong Balog-Balog phase 2, 50 percent, di ba Tarlac to? Fifty percent pa lang hanggang ngayon. Eh kung ako si PNoy, pagbababarilin ko kayo ‘pag hindi n’yo tinapos ang Balog-balog during my term. Di ba kaya ka naging presidente para tapusin mo yung project dun sa bayan mo. Tingin mo after namatay na si PNoy, 2023, 50 percent,” according to Villar.Villar was referring to the late President Noynoy Aquino.Villar advised NIA to avoid spending millions of pesos for the feasibility study but instead focus on creating irrigation facilities.“Kaya tinanggal ko yung budget n’yo sa feasibility study. Gawin n’yo na lang yung feasible. Imagine, P2.5 billion for feasibility study na hindi ko maintindihan yun kasi wala naman kayong masyadong pera, eh di gawin n’yo na lang yung feasible. Bakit trabaho n’yo ba yung gumawa ng feasibility study o gumawa ng irrigation facilities? Kung ako kayo, praktikal ako, gagawin na lang what is feasible sa limited budget n’yo bakit n’yo sasayangin sa feasibility study?” Villar told NIA.The lawmaker almost walked out from the hearing while trying to find out answers from NIA officials on why they have a very low performance rate in terms of their irrigation projects. “Maganda pa mas less project pero mas ginagawa kaysa kadami-dami n’yong project puro 5 percent, 10 percent, ano yan? Eh di wala yang impact sa tao… Ano bang kalokohan yan?” Villar asked.Villar asked the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) to explain their allocation of budget for NIA after they reasoned out that they are not receiving enough budget on-time.According to DBM Director Elena Regina Brillantes, they are releasing the budget of NIA comprehensively.“Actually madame chair, kasama po sila sa mga agencies or GOCCs comprehensively released po yung budget nila. Yung implementation po kasi nasa kanila po yun kaya nga po ang evaluation namin, tinitingnan po namin yung utilization rate nila,” Brillantes explained.Brillantes added that since 2020, they are releasing SARO (Special Allotment Release Order) and NCA (Notice of Cash Allowance) to NIA and other government agencies so they can immediately obligate or implement their projects.But according to NIA administrator Eduardo Guillen, DBM’s release of SARO and NCA is not for the whole amount of the project.“Yung release nila (DBM) totoong nagre-release sila pero hindi the whole project amount,” Guillen said.Villar said if she will be asked to manage NIA and with only 10 percent accomplishment of their projects, she will immediately recommend the abolition of the said agency.“So wala silang natatapos, puro sila simula. Pumapayag kayo nang ganyan, ‘bat hindi n’yo pa patanggal ang NIA ‘pag ganyan? Ako magma-manage tapos puro 10 percent ‘to 2018 after 5-years patatanggal ko sila. Balewala sila, wala pala silang natatapos eh,” Villar said.NIA’s original proposed budget for 2024 is P132 billion but the DBM only allocated P41.2 billion.Villar said NIA should stop identifying projects which they cannot actually finish.“Ang point ko, huwag na kayo mag-identify ng maraming project, identify lang yung kayang tapusin. Tapos ‘pag natapos na yun tsaka mag-identify ng panibago kasi sa mga tao mas better yun kasi may pinakinabangan sila kesa puro simula. Hindi pwede yung puro tayo simula tapos wala tayong matatapos kawawa naman yung mga tao, yung pera na inilagay natin sa pagkarami-raming project ilagay na lang natin kung kaya natin,” Villar said.Guillen promised to evaluate their projects which are up for bidding. Aside from NIA, other attached agencies of DAR include Philippine Coconut Authority, National Dairy Authority and Philippine Carabao Center.The Senate Committee on Finance (Subcommittee B) adjourned the budget hearing Thursday and announced that the proposed budget for fiscal year 2024 of the Department of Agriculture, DENR and DAR are all deemed submitted for plenary deliberation.

The lawmaker almost walked out from the hearing while trying to find out answers from NIA officials on why they have a very low performance rate in terms of their irrigation projects. 

'Puro kayo simula!': Villar fumes at National Irrigation Administration over unfinished projects

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'Puro kayo simula!': Villar fumes at National Irrigation Administration over unfinished projects

Johnson Manabat,

ABS-CBN News

Published Oct 19, 2023 07:51 PM PHT

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Senate

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Cynthia Villar

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