Instead of bonuses, NIA execs get scolding from Noy By Aurea Calica (The Philippine Star) | Updated June 26, 2013 - 1:00am MANILA, Philippines - Instead of a bonus or words of praise, officials and employees of the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) received a dressing down from President Aquino during their 50th anniversary celebration yesterday. Aquino lamented that the NIA has failed to meet its irrigation targets since 2001, thus affecting the country’s agricultural productivity and targets for rice self-sufficiency. Explaining that he does not engage in flattery or dilly-dallying, Aquino said he was dismayed with the NIA’s performance and would have to confront the agency about it. The President reminded the NIA to fulfill its mandate to develop and rehabilitate irrigation systems in support of the administration’s rice self-sufficiency program and provide an adequate level of irrigation service on a sustainable basis to help the country’s farmers. “I will be honest with you, I am still dismayed because until now, it shows that there is little change happening in the National Irrigation Administration. We are already in the middle of our term and it is difficult if until now, you still don’t know what you want to do,” Aquino said. The President said he was voted into office to guard all departments and agencies of the government “but I am only human” and he was not equipped with CCTV (closed-circuit television) cameras 24/7 to see everything that was happening. Headlines ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 Aquino told NIA Administrator Antonio Nangel and his employees that there was still time to improve their performance to better serve the farmers, but not without enumerating the targets they were not able to meet. For the new areas for irrigation, Aquino said data submitted by NIA itself made the problem immediately apparent: from 2001 to 2009, the agency not once met its target and there were years, like in 2005, when only 56 percent – or only 10,539 hectares – of the 18,883 hectares was irrigated. In 2006, only 40 percent of the 22,639 hectares was irrigated, or only 8,989 hectares. He said NIA posted a dismal 66 percent accomplishment rate until the end of 2009. “Isn’t it puzzling that in your long years of being in office, you were not able to make concrete actions on these foul ups? Making promises and failing to fulfill these promises might already have become a vice,” Aquino said. Aquino also said under the present Irrigation Services Development Program, only 87 percent or 32,824 hectares of the 37,759 hectares have been irrigated in 2011. It might have been acceptable if the story ended there but the problem was that in 2012, only 52,372 hectares of the 81,170 hectares or 65 percent of new areas for irrigation were completed by the agency. “We are going back to line of six. We might go back to line of three. Isn’t it that you’re the ones who set your targets and clearly you were not able to meet them. Of course, the question will be, why?” the President asked. With what’s happening in NIA, Aquino said he felt its officials were inviting him to strictly monitor them. “To those who know me better, they know that any excuses or making alibis will not work with me. So if we talked and you promised something, I would expect you to be true to your word,” Aquino stressed. The President also cited the case of the Balog-Balog irrigation project in Tarlac as among the projects that remained unfinished 21 years since it was started, to the detriment of the farmers. He said it was so unfortunate to hear farmers relying merely on rainfall when there was supposed to be an irrigation system, which was never done after many administrations. The President noted that a private proponent was willing to extend help to complete the project but the NIA had yet to do its part to push through with the project. He said the proposal had flood control, irrigation and even provision for electricity without cost to the government but after three years, still nothing happened. According to Aquino, project proposals must be studied and pursued if feasible, and dropped if not. But there must be a decision, he pointed out. In three years with irrigation, 7.5 harvest cycles can be done, Aquino said, as against the three harvest cycles recorded at present. philstar/headlines/2013/06/26/958268/instead-bonuses-nia-execs-get-scolding-noy
Posted on: Tue, 25 Jun 2013 23:46:19 +0000
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