By Matthew Go
The National Irrigation Administration (NIA) has proposed the construction of four impounding dams in Palawan as part of its 2025 projects for the MIMAROPA region. The dams are intended to mitigate the effects of El Niño and La Niña on the region’s agriculture.
The proposed dam sites are located in Barangays Ransang and Malabangan in Rizal and Batang-Batang and Malatgao in Narra. NIA MIMAROPA Regional Manager Engineer Ronilio Cervantes emphasized that the dams will store water during rainy seasons, helping to address both irrigation needs during dry periods and flood control in these areas.
The Philippines has a long history of dam construction aimed at improving water management and flood control. Projects like the Angat, Ambuklao, and San Roque Dams, developed in the latter half of the 20th century, were initially built to address the country’s demand for hydropower, irrigation, and flood mitigation. The San Roque Dam, for instance, was constructed to serve as a multipurpose facility for power generation, irrigation, and flood control, significantly impacting water supply management across the Luzon region. However, dams in the country have faced design challenges due to frequent natural events like typhoons and earthquakes, necessitating stringent engineering standards for durability and efficiency.
For the proposed Ransang dam in Palawan, the detailed design and program of work are complete, with a ₱350 million budget allocated for 2025, aiming to irrigate 620 hectares. The remaining three projects are undergoing feasibility studies, with planned irrigation coverage of 1, 750 hectares in Malabangan, 4, 271 hectares in Batang-Batang, and 4, 390 hectares in Malatgao. The use of dams remains critical for water conservation in the Philippines, as climate impacts increasingly strain water resources. In this context, Palawan’s projects reflect a broader national strategy of combining water storage, irrigation, and potential hydropower to meet the agricultural and infrastructural needs of the country.
In addition, NIA is exploring solar-pumped deep wells to supplement irrigation during droughts, though this technology is not yet funded in the 2025 budget. Cervantes stated that an annual budget of ₱6 billion would allow NIA to meet its goal of irrigating an additional 30, 000 hectares by 2030.