Marcos wants to build more high, multipurpose dams – NIA

MAJOR SOURCE | Farmers in communities near Angat Dam in Bulacan, shown in this undated photo, can expect uninterrupted irrigation supply as promised by officials managing this main source of water for Metro Manila despite the reservoir’s decreasing water level. (File photo from the Norzagaray Municipal Disaster and Risk Reduction Management Office)

MANILA, Philippines — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. wants more high dams built during his term, said National Irrigation Administration (NIA) administrator Eduardo Guillen on Tuesday.

In a Palace briefing, Guillen said the NIA wants to build around three to five high dams by 2028.

Asked how the President reacted to this proposal, Guillen recalled that it was Marcos’ idea to build more high dams in the Philippines

READ: NIA signs P2.4 billion deal to build new Bayabas Rockfill Dam in Bulacan

“At the beginning, this is what he was saying: He said that high dams… the president’s reasoning is that they are multi-purpose,” Guillen said in Filipino in an ambush interview after the briefing.

“Let us not forget what he said: It has flood control, irrigation, hydropower, aquaculture, and many other uses and returns.”

Guillen said that by the standard of NIA, high dams can reach up to 100 meters.

These dams target Tumauini in Isabela, the Panay River Basin in Capiz, and other locations in the Ilocos region and Mindanao.