Solons assail suspension order vs NIA head
MANILA, Philippines — A party-list representative and a lady lawmaker have assailed the suspension order against the head of the National Irrigation Administration (NIA), saying this may hamper and even put at risk the country’s energy supply requirement and irrigation needs in the farmlands.
“Nakakabahala na ang isang magaling na tao ng gobyerno ay sirain ng Ombudsman dahil lang sa kanyang management style na tama lang naman na gawin dahil maraming anomalya sa NIA [The move to destroy a person because of his management style really bothers me, considering that political will must be done to rid NIA of corrupt workers],” said Philippine Rural Electric Cooperative Association (Philreca) representative, Presley C. De Jesus.
The solon was referring to the complaint filed against NIA Administrator Benny Antiporda by two former NIA officials for alleged grave misconduct, harassment, oppression and ignorance of the law, which was immediately acted upon by the Office of the Ombudsman (OMB) on November 15, 2022. Antiporda was given a six-month preventive suspension without pay.
Up to now, however, Antiporda, who immediately complied with the OMB order, is yet to receive a formal copy of the complaint against him.
On the other hand, the OMB is yet to act on the complaint for graft and corruption filed by Antiporda against former NIA Legal Department head, Atty. Lloyd Allain Cudal and former NIA Board secretary, Michelle Gonzales Raymundo last September and October, respectively.
Iloilo Rep. Julienne “Jamjam” Baronda, for her part, also voiced her concern over the OMB’s action, saying she found it questionable that the OMB immediately suspended Antiporda but failed to take action on the complaints he has filed against Cudal and Raymundo.
The timing of Antiporda’s suspension, she added, is also “suspicious” as it came right after Congress approved the proposed budget of the OMB and while President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., who appointed Antiporda, is busy preparing for the APEC meeting.
The other reported complainant, the NIA Employees Association of the Philippines (NIAEASP), had already denounced their inclusion as complainant against Antiporda, stressing they even issued a statement of support on his leadership only last September, a support that “still stands and remains unchanged,” said NIAEASP president, Eduardo Yu, in a statement last November 16, 2022.
De Jesus also chided the OMB for using as basis, the allegation by Raymundo and Cudal that Antiporda’s proposal to include the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) program to hasten the irrigation for an additional one million hectares of the country’s farmlands while boosting energy supply as not suitable for NIA and is meant to “deceive” the President.
De Jesus said that as the leading voice in Congress for the country’s electric cooperatives, tapping the PPP as proposed by Antiporda would also help address the power supply needs in the rural areas.
“Rural electrification is my advocacy. Kapag nakapagtayo ng maraming (water) dams, marami rin ang maitatayong hydro electric power at solar power plants. At dahil sa PPP proposal ni Antiporda, siguradong dadami ang proyekto na makakatulong din sa electricity (supply) problem sa rural areas [If water dams are constructed, hydro wlectric power and solar power plants will also be established and with the PPP proposal, it is sure that many projects will resolve energy problems in the rural areas],” De Jesus pointed out.
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