Benny Antiporda, formerly the officer-in-charge, is elected as the National Irrigation Administration’s new administrator during the agency’s board meeting on Aug. 18, 2022. (Photo from National Irrigation Administration/Facebook)
MANILA, Philippines – The National Irrigation Administration (NIA) welcomed its new full-fledged chief, Benny Antiporda, after the Board of Directors elected him on Thursday.
Antiporda, formerly an undersecretary of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), was earlier appointed by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to head the NIA in an acting capacity.
Before his new appointment, former President Rodrigo Duterte had also given Antiporda a seat as a NIA senior deputy administrator.
READ: Duterte appoints DENR exec Antiporda as NIA senior deputy administrator
The NIA, in a statement, said Antiporda aims to “to double up the completed irrigation projects of the agency that can fast-track irrigation development through Public-Private and Public-Public partnerships.”
Antiporda was DENR undersecretary for Solid Waste Management and Local Government Units Concerns when he initiated the closure of 355 open dumpsites in the country in 2018, as per Republic Act 9003, or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000, which should have been done since 2006.
READ: DENR orders closure of 200 open dumps by March | DENR orders shutdown of sanitary landfill in Pangasinan
Also during his stint at the DENR, the island resort of Boracay underwent massive clean-up and rehabilitation with the joint efforts of the Boracay Inter-Agency Task Force, demolishing illegal structures and reorganizing the sewage system in the beach tourist area.
At the NIA, Antiporda launched the #NIAparasabayan to remind all NIA employees to continue doing their best in the service of the Filipino people.
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