President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. leads on Wednesday, Dec. 13, 2023 in the turnover of P776 million worth of excavators procured by the National Irrigation Administration at Subic Freeport Zone in Olongapo City, Zambales. (File photo from the Facebook page of the Presidential Communications Office)
MANILA, Philippines — President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. on Wednesday turned over more P782 million worth of irrigation equipment to the National Irrigation Administration office in Pampanga.
Marcos said a total of 148 units of heavy equipment such as excavators, dump trucks and truck-tractors with trailers will be distributed in regional offices of the National Irrigation Administration (NIA).
The event in Pampanga is the second tranche of the operations and maintenance equipment under the NIA’s three-year re-fleeting program.
“This investment in our irrigation infrastructure attests to our unwavering commitment to supporting the backbone of our economy — the agriculture sector,” Marcos said in his speech delivered at Global Construct City Grounds Mexico Exit in Pampanga.
The first tranche of the re-fleeting program was held last December 2023, when 141 units of excavators worth P776 million were distributed to 17 NIA offices, according to Marcos.
He further said the third tranche of the distribution of equipment worth P1 billion will be held in 2025.
“Through our re-fleeting program, we can instantly repair and build more irrigation facilities that were damaged by natural calamities, [and] stand strong against the challenges of shifting climate change,” Marcos said.
“It is more important now as many parts of the country are still recovering from the onslaught of Typhoon Carina and Butchoy,” he added.
Heavy rains due to Carina-enhanced habagat flooded many parts of the country last month, causing damage to agriculture and irrigation infrastructure while killing 48 people.
The NIA has 257 National Irrigation Systems and 8,802 Communal Irrigation Systems nationwide.