Nat’l Irrigation Administration now under Office of the President

MANILA, Philippines — President Ferdinand “Bongbong” R. Marcos Jr. ordered the transfer of the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) to the Office of the President (OP) as an attached agency.

Under Executive Order No. 69, signed by Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin on Sept. 5, the NIA was brought back as an attached agency of the OP.

 “Irrigation management and development [are] vital towards achieving food security and ensuring infrastructure development in the country, which are among the Administration’s priority initiatives,” the EO read.

 “It is imperative to streamline and rationalize the functional relationships of agencies with complementary mandates in order to promote coordination, efficiency, and coherence within the bureaucracy,” it added.

“The NIA is hereby attached to the OP for policy and program coordination,” the order further read.

Meanwhile, Marcos also ordered the reorganization of the NIA Board, which will now be composed of the following:

• Representative from the Office of the President
• Administrator, NIA
• Secretary, Department of Public Works and Highways
• Secretary, Department of Agriculture
• Secretary, National Economic and Development Authority
• Representative from the private sector to be appointed by the President.

 Before the order, the NIA was an attached agency of the Department of Agriculture under EO No. 168 (S. 2022).

With EO No. 69, EO No. 168, and “all other issuances, orders, rules, and regulations, or parts thereof that are inconsistent with this Order are hereby repealed or modified accordingly.”