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New acting administrator Eduardo Guillen says ready to solve NIA woes

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Jervis Manahan, ABS-CBN News

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="New Acting Administrator Eduardo Guillen in an exclusive interview with ABS-CBN News, Dec. 13, 2022. Jervis Manahan, ABS-CBN News" src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2022/news/12/13/eduardo-guillen-12132022.jpg"/><figcaption>New Acting Administrator Eduardo Guillen in an exclusive interview with ABS-CBN News, Dec. 13, 2022. Jervis Manahan, ABS-CBN News</figcaption></figure></div>MANILA — Newly appointed National Irrigation Administration (NIA) acting administrator Eduardo Guillen is ready to solve the woes hounding the agency.<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/12/12/22/ex-ilocos-norte-mayor-replaces-antiporda-as-nia-head">Ex-Ilocos Norte mayor replaces Antiporda as NIA head</a></li></ul>In an exclusive interview with ABS-CBN News, Guillen said he is ready to take on the role. He replaced then-acting administrator Benny Antiporda.&quot;May mga nauna na kaming pag-uusap ng presidente, kinakausap niya ako na tumulong sa agrikultura. Noong una sa (Department of Agriculture), pero civil engineer ako by profession, mas kumportable ako dito,&quot; said Guillen, a former Piddig, Ilocos Norte mayor.(We have had previous talks with the president, and he is talking to me to help in agriculture. At first in the (Department of Agriculture), but I am a civil engineer by profession I feel more comfortable here.)Guillen took oath as NIA acting administrator on Monday, the same day that the appointment was publicized. The NIA board still needs to confirm and formalize the appointment.Before his appointment, NIA was embroiled in a controversy because of an internal rift involving Antiporda and several lawyers of the agency.<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/11/16/22/antiporda-nia-workers-complaint-part-of-smear-campaign">Antiporda says NIA workers&#x27; complaints part of &#x27;smear campaign&#x27;</a></li></ul>Asked how he&#x27;s going to solve such issues, Guillen said he already talked to employees and told them not to engage in faction wars because their common enemy is poverty.&quot;Alam mo, bago ako pumasok dito, ganyan din nangyari, divided ang bayan namin (sa Piddig), pero battlecry namin, may theme song kami, &#x27;yung &#x27;Tatsulok&#x27; ni Bamboo. Hindi pula&#x27;t dilaw ang magkalaban. Sabi ko, &#x27;yang paksyon-paksyon na &#x27;yan, di magkalaban. Ang kalaban namin sa NIA, &#x27;yung kahirapan ng mga magsasaka,&quot; he said.(You know, before I came here, the same thing happened, our town (in Piddig) was divided, but we had a battle cry, we had a theme song, Bamboo&#x27;s &quot;Tatsulok&quot;. Red and yellow are not opposites. I said those factions are not against each other. Our enemy in the NIA is the poverty of the farmers.)He also said he&#x27;s leaving it up to the board to decide on the fate of NIA&#x27;s former corporate secretary Atty. Michelle Raymundo, and NIA&#x27;s former legal counsel Atty. Lloyd Allain Cudal. They are both complainants in the cases filed against Anitporda before the Ombudsman.Guillen said he has talked to them, and he&#x27;s hoping for a win-win situation.&quot;Kung anong kalabasan ng kaso, sana may win-win situation na mahanap para everybody happy,&quot; Guillen added.(Whatever the outcome of the case, I hope a win-win situation can be found so that everyone is happy.)Guillen has been serving on the NIA board for 2 months before being appointed as its administrator.He said he shares a deep bond with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. because he also hails from Ilocos Norte.&quot;Alam namin kung ano ang aspirations niya, alam namin ano gusto niyang gagawin, pamilyar kami doon, sa direction na gusto niya.&quot;(We know what his aspirations are, we know what he wants to do, we are familiar with that, the direction he wants.)<figure class="op-interactive"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" frameBorder="0" height="100%" id="ivsplayer01" scrolling="no" src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/html/iframe-src.html?iframeid=ivsplayer01&amp;key=e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603&amp;spid=3001339&amp;vid=2378195" width="100%"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more News on <a href="https://www.iwanttfc.com/#!/browse/Genres/News/tag_id_genres/id_news" target="_blank">iWantTFC</a></div><div> MARCHING ORDERS</div>Guillen bared that Marcos&#x27; marching orders to him are to reduce poverty incidence among farmers and fisherfolk.&quot;Kailangan natin pag-usapan ano ba ang pinakamalaking problema sa agrikultura, lagi kong sinasabi na ang problema ay low productivity ng ating farmers,&quot; Guillen said.(We need to talk about what is the biggest problem in agriculture: I always say that the problem is the low productivity of our farmers.)He said he&#x27;ll focus on lowering production costs and establishing cooperatives to strengthen their ranks.Guillen also said he&#x27;ll introduce a paradigm shift in irrigation to make it more responsive to climate change.&quot;Napakaganda ng plano ng pangulo. Gusto niya mangyari, hindi lang flood control, water management, climate change adaptation project, para makatulong sa ating magsasaka ma-increase &#x27;yung climate change resiliency,&quot; he said.&quot;Kapag tag-ulan, iipunin muna ang tubig, di na mag-cause ng baha. Pagtigil ng ulan, puwede mo lagyan tilapia, puwede pang tourism,&quot; he added.(The president has a beautiful plan. He wants it to happen, not just flood control, water management, and climate change adaptation project, to help our farmers increase climate change resiliency. When it rains, the water will be collected first, so it won&#x27;t cause a flood. When the rain stops, you can add tilapia, you can even do tourism.)He said more irrigation projects are underway to help farmers.

Newly appointed National Irrigation Administration (NIA) acting administrator Eduardo Guillen is ready to solve the woes hounding the agency.

New acting administrator Eduardo Guillen says ready to solve NIA woes

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New acting administrator Eduardo Guillen says ready to solve NIA woes

Jervis Manahan,

ABS-CBN News

Published Dec 13, 2022 05:27 PM PHT

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