NIA defends DAP funds for Iloilo dam

ILOILO CITY—The National Irrigation Administration (NIA) has defended the release of P450 million from the Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP) to fund a controversial P11.2-billion mega dam project in Iloilo province.

Gerardo Corsiga, NIA Western Visayas manager, said the agency requested for funding for the Jalaur River Multipurpose Project (JRMP) Phase II to implement the 54-year-old project.

“The funds were vital for the commencement of this decades-old project, which was mandated by [Republic Act No.] 2651 in 1960 but has been given action only under the Aquino administration,” Corsiga said in a statement.

The JRMP II received one of the largest allocations from the DAP, which had been struck down by the Supreme Court as unconstitutional.

Corsiga, also the JRMP II’s project manager, said the NIA had been “very transparent regarding all funds that are allocated to and used for the JRMP II.”

The P450 million in DAP funds were used for preparatory civil works in Calinog town in Iloilo, the site of the mega dam.

These included, among others, the construction of access roads and cross drainage along a high-line canal (P39.9 million); repair and rehabilitation of Suague Dam (P32.6 million); repair and rehabilitation of Sta. Barbara Dam, rechanneling of Aganan River and desilting and improvement of the main canal at Aganan River (P30.2 million), and repair and rehabilitation of Sibalom diversion works (P28.8 million).

It was also used for improvement of irrigation facilities (P30.5 million), slope protection for Aganan drainage outfall (P15 million), drainage improvement of canal outfall and rehabilitation of the dam

(P8.6 million), and rehabilitation of Mambog dam (P3 million), according to Corsiga.

The project, to be completed in 2016, involves the construction of three dams (Jalaur reservoir, after-bay and catch dams), a 6.6-megawatt hydropower plant and an 81-kilometer high-line canal in Calinog, Iloilo.

It is aimed at developing irrigation systems, generating hydroelectric power and providing domestic and industrial water supply.

It is funded  by the $203-million official development assistance from the South Korean government through its Export-Import Bank’s Economic Cooperation Fund, with a counterpart fund from the Philippine government amounting to P2.2 billion.

The P450 million from the DAP was the first-year counterpart fund of the government, according to the Department of Budget and Management.

The Court of Appeals is hearing a petition filed by former Iloilo Rep. Augusto Syjuco Jr. to stop the project.

The Supreme Court on Oct. 31 last year issued a writ of kalikasan against the NIA and other proponents to reply to the petition, but the high court did not issue a temporary environmental protection order that would have stopped the project.

Environmental groups and members of the indigenous peoples’ group Tumandok are opposing the project for alleged environmental and safety threats, including its proximity to the active West Panay Fault, flooding and dislocation of residents in affected areas.

Corsiga said in the statement that the JRMP II was not within the fault line and was “safe from ground rupture.”

He said the indigenous people communities were “consulted and their concerns were properly addressed.”