NIA chief bats for P200-B yearly budget for dam projects

National Irrigation Administration (NIA) chief Eddie Guillen on Tuesday expressed hope for a yearly P200-billion budget for the country's dam projects.

“Well, ang ideal ang sabi ko nga sa inyo, ang ideal sana para sa akin, ano, sa tingin ko lamang po, meron sanang ma-implement ang gobyerno na around P200 billion worth of dam projects,” Guillen said in a briefing in Malacañang.

(Personally, the ideal for me is for the government to hopefully implement around P200 billion worth of dam projects.)

Guillen, however, cannot indicate how many projects can be accomplished with such a budget, saying it would differ with each one.

“Iba-iba kasing sizes. Meron kasing P10 billion, merong P1 billion (there are different sizes. There’s a P10 billion, there’s P1 billion),” he said.

“Magkakabi ng range po eh. Ang akin lang sana ayun ang budget per year [the range differs. But I just hope that’s the budget per year],” Guillen added.

Aside from irrigation, Guillen also pointed out that dams have multiple uses.

“Ang maganda ho nga sa mga dams, hindi lamang siya pang-irigasyon. Puwede din power source ‘yan and, of course, flood control project… pang aquaculture, pang-tourism. ‘Yung sa dam mismo puwede mo lagyan ng mga solar panels,” Guillen said.

(What is good about dams is they are not just for irrigation. They can also be a source of power and, of course, a flood control project… for aquaculture, for tourism. Solar panels can also be placed there.)

Guillen also said that NIA had P1 trillion worth of projects ready.

He said NIA earlier presented the national food security convergence program to Marcos, which seeks to improve irrigation and extend aid to Philippine farmers.

According to Guillen, Marcos has directed Public Works and Highways chief Manuel Bonoan to work together with them. —KBK, GMA Integrated News