Marcos seeks rehabilitation of Magat Dam

President Ferdinand ''Bongbong'' Marcos Jr. on Monday expressed his intention to modernize and rehabilitate the Magat Dam.

According to the Presidential Communications Office, at the launch of the  P65.7-million Cabaruan solar-powered irrigation project (SPIP) in  Quirino, Isabela, Marcos urged the National Irrigation Administration to check the status of Magat Dam.

“Nag-uusap nga kami ni  Administrator Guillen. 'Ika namin, balikan natin, tingnan natin ullit  'yung Magat Dam at tingnan natin kung pupuwede pa. Mukhang mayroon pang  kailangan.  Mayroon siguro rehabilitation na kailangan. Pagandahin  natin,” Marcos said.

(Administrator Guillen and I talked... we said, "Let's look at the Magat Dam. Let's check what's needed, maybe rehabilitation is needed.")

“Lagyan din natin ng ganitong solar kung babagay siya para naman i-modernize natin lahat ng ating mga facilities," he added.

(If it's appropriate, let's install solar power so that we can modernize all our facilities.)
 
According to the PCO, Magat Dam was built in 1975. The dam has been a major source of irrigation for 85,000 hectares of farmland in the Cagayan Valley Region.

The Magat Dam also generates 540 megawatts of hydroelectric power. However, at present, the dam is threatened by continuous siltation, sedimentation,  slash-and-burn farming, illegal logging, and fish caging.

Marcos said the Cagayan River, the longest river in the Philippines, had so much potential for the agriculture sector because of the tributaries connected to it. — DVM, GMA Integrated News