PRESIDENT Marcos Jr. yesterday led the turnover of P782.132-million worth of heavy equipment such as excavators, trailer trucks and dumpers to the regional offices and other beneficiaries of the three-year Re-fleeting Program of the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) which aims to improve the agricultural sector and help attain food security in the Philippines.
The President also inaugurated the Integrated Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Change Adaptation Project-Stage 1 (IDRR-CCA 1) in Masantol in Pampanga which is expected to reduce the flood level and duration from 66 days to 17 days in the municipalities of Macabebe, Masantol, Minalin, and Sto. Tomas.
The President, during the turnover of 148 new heavy equipment held in Mexico in Pampanga, said the third tranche of the re-fleeting program which is worth over P1 billion will be turned over in 2025. The first tranche of equipment which included 141 units benefitting 17 NIA regional offices were turned over in 2023.
Marcos said the provision of the new machineries will empower the NIA regional offices, the irrigators’ associations, and the farmers to ensure the sustainability of the country’s irrigation systems.
The President said the re-fleeting program would help “avoid losses and to promote more efficient use of water resources that will in turn, produce better and more crops.”
Marcos said it would also help in repairing and building more irrigation facilities that were damaged by natural calamities such as typhoons Carina and Butchoy can be immediately done.
Under the re-fleeting program, heavy equipment will be utilized in the operations and maintenance of irrigation systems, particularly in canal desilting operations in preparation for the wet crop season.
NIA at present manages 257 National Irrigation Systems and 8,802 Communal Irrigation Systems
Meanwhile, at the inauguration of the IDRR-CCA 1, the President directed the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) to ensure the second stage of the project will proceed as scheduled “to fully realize the project’s benefits and provide long-term solutions to flooding” in Pampanga.
“We are very optimistic this will redound to improving the people’s lives by enhancing the disaster resilience of all our communities,” Marcos said.
He extended his gratitude to the South Korean government for its technical assistance in realizing the project which aims to increase and improve the capacity of the Third River, Eastern Branch River, Caduang Tete River, and Sapang Maragul River which all drains into the Pampanga River.
The P7.57-billion project was sourced from the Export-Import Bank of Korea-Economic Development Cooperation Fund.
The President also highlighted the government has completed several flood control projects in Central Luzon such as the P85-million Pampanga River in Gabaldon in Nueva Ecija which was completed in May 2024, and the P91- million rehabilitation of the eroded bank of the Pampanga River in Candating in Arayat that was completed in October last year.
He committed that the government, through the DPWH, will expeditiously complete the other ongoing flood control projects especially in Central Luzon, which had been affected by the heavy rains and flash floods brought by Typhoon Carina and the Habagat.
