MANILA – The National Irrigation Administration (NIA) on Wednesday assured the controlled release of water from dams as Typhoon Marce (Yinxing) continues to affect parts of Northern Luzon.
“Ang ginagawa po natin diyan sa mga malalaking dams po natin, bago dumating ang bagyo ay may controlled releases na po tayo diyan (What we’re doing in our huge dams is that before the landfall of typhoons, we are having controlled releases),” said NIA Administrator Eduardo Guillen during the Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon forum.
He said such move helped dams manage the incoming volume of rainwater, similar to what happened in Magat dam during the onslaught of Severe Tropical Storm Kristine (Trami).
“Nagbawas po kami ng eight meters sa height ng ating dam sa may Magat. So, noong dumating na iyong bagyo, napakalakas noong inflow ng tubig eh, nasa (We reduced eight meters in Magat dam. So, when the storm came, the inflow of water was so strong, around) 3, 200 cubic meters per second, pero na-contain po ng dam natin (but the dam contained it),” Guillen added, citing mitigation on possible impacts to its downstream.
He said the Magat dam can affect parts of Isabela and Cagayan provinces.
Guillen, meanwhile, assured that Pantabangan, San Roque, and Jalaur dams, among others, are still far from spilling levels.
The NIA earlier underscored the need for high-level dams in the country, not only for water reserves but for flood management infrastructures.
P29, Rice for All
The NIA, meanwhile, vowed to continue its convergence project with the Department of Agriculture (DA) under the contract farming program as President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. ordered the expansion of the P29 Rice for All program.
The P29 program refers to the sale of the National Food Authority (NFA)’s rice at PHP29 per kilogram to the vulnerable sector, including members of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps), senior citizens, solo parents, and persons with disabilities (PWDs).
The Rice for All program, on the other hand, sells mixed local and imported commercial well-milled rice at PHP43 per kilogram.
The DA is expected to expand both programs from 21 to 300 Kadiwa ng Pangulo Centers by mid-2025.
To ensure a stable supply of cheaper rice, Guillen said there would be additional funds coming in to cover a wider area of land for contract farming.
“Ngayon ay 250, 000 hectares iyong target po natin at weekly ang aming meeting ni Secretary (Francisco Tiu) Laurel Jr. para po ito ay maisakatuparan (Now, our target is 250, 000 hectares and we will meet with Secretary Laurel to implement this),” Guillen said.
The target land area was more than six times higher during the launch of contract farming, where NIA utilized 40, 000 hectares of rice farms.
The NIA earlier vowed to continue its sale of Bagong Bayaning Magsasaka (BBM) rice at PHP29 per kilogram to the vulnerable sector, as the first batch of contract farming’s palay yield reached 55, 011 metric tons (MT). (PNA)