DA vows to begin Batad Rice Terraces rehab despite delay of funds

The Department of Agriculture assured the public the planned rehabilitation of damaged portions of the Ifugao Rice Terraces will begin this month despite delays in the release of the P20-million allocation from the DA and P10 million from the office of Sen. Francis Pangilinan. At a Feb. 6 meeting, DA Assistant Secretary and National Rice Program Coordinator Dante Delima told Ifugao Governor Eugene Balitang that a technical team was to be sent by the DA by Feb. 8 to map out an action plan for the rehabilitation of typhoon-damaged rice terraces in Batad town. He added that in light of the delays in the release of the money committed by the DA and the office of Sen. Pangilinan, the National Rice Program is ready to use a P1-million fund to begin the restoration work. The rehabilitation will involve the sorting, gathering, and piling of collapsed stones and boulders originally built to support an indigenous irrigation system for rice planting along mountain slopes. “This initiative was a result of Secretary Alcala’s visit to Ifugao on November 25 last year. On December 14, 2011, the DA-Cordillera Administrative Region Field Unit submitted a project proposal for the restoration of the Batad Rice Terraces. Almost a month later, it was endorsed to the National Rice Program and exactly five days thereafter, no less than the Secretary forwarded the same to the DBM,” Delima said. Delima added that 300 to 500 workers are being eyed to provide manpower support for the activity. They will be compensated under the Department of Social Welfare and Development’s cash-for-work program. Also during the Feb. 6 meeting, Governor Balitang apologized to Delima for news reports quoting his apparent impatience over the release of funds for the Ifugao Rice Terraces, saying he was “quoted out of context.” Delima assured the governor that “the DA is doing its best to facilitate the release of such funds,” noting that a follow-up letter from Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala has already been forwarded to Budget Secretary Florencio Abad. The Ifugao Rice Terraces is considered a UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) World Heritage Site and one of the Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems. — Amanda Lago /ELR, GMA News