Marcos orders NIA acting head Guillen to reduce poverty incidence among farmers

Newly-appointed National Irrigation Administration (NIA) acting administrator Eduardo Guillen said Thursday President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. tasked him to reduce the poverty incidence among farmers.

Citing data from the Philippine Statistics Authority, Guillen said that more than 60% of the poor are situated in rural areas and most of them are fishermen and farmers.

“Ang mandato sa’tin ng Pangulo, gawin natin silang…hindi lang dapat sila producers of goods, dapat may kakayahan silang maging consumer of goods and services. Ibig sabihin, mapaangat sila doon sa poverty threshold. ‘Yun kasi ang magandang foundation ng micro, small, and medium enterprises,” he said in a public briefing.

(The President's mandate to me is to make them not only producers of goods, but also consumers of goods and services. He wants them raised from the poverty threshold. That is a good foundation for micro, small and medium enterprises.)

“Ang mandate sa’tin ng Pangulo ay generally pababain ang poverty incidence lalo na sa ating magsasaka,” he added, stressing that there will be no peace if there is hunger.

(The President's mandate to us is to generally reduce the incidence of poverty, especially among our farmers.)

Guillen, a former mayor of Piddig, Ilocos Norte, said they will set interventions to lower the production cost of the farmers, as well as expand their market.

It was on Monday when Press Secretary officer-in-charge Cheloy Garafil confirmed that Marcos appointed Guillen as the new NIA acting head, replacing former NIA administrator Benny Antiporda.

Antiporda issue

Moreover, Guillen said that he already met with the NIA officials and told them he would not meddle in the administrative complaints that Antiporda faces.

“Ang usapan namin, i-set aside muna nila ang kanilang differences para magtrabaho kami lahat. Pumayag naman po sila pati ‘yung nagsampa ng reklamo kay Sir Benny. Kinausap ko po sila at sinabi ko na I will make sure na ‘yung kanilang issues, hindi ko naman papakialaman ‘yun,” he said.

(Our discussion was that they should set aside their differences so that we can all work together. They agreed, even those who filed a complaint against Sir Benny. I talked to them and said that I will make sure that I will not interfere with their issues.)

“Ang concern ko lamang, ‘yung tamang serbisyo. Dapat mag-focus kami sa trabaho namin sa NIA,” he added.

(My only concern is the right service. We should focus on our work at NIA.)

In November, the Office of the Ombudsman placed Antiporda under preventive suspension for six months following the administrative complaints filed by several NIA employees against him.

NIA employees Lloyd Allain Cudal and Michelle Gonzales Raymundo lodged complaints against Antiporda for allegedly committing conduct prejudicial to the best interest of the service, grave misconduct, harassment, oppression, and ignorance of the law.

For his part, Antiporda said the accusations were “baseless” and merely “petty allegations.”—AOL, GMA Integrated News