President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. on Wednesday vowed to provide adequate funds for the construction of large dams in the country.

“The big dams. We need to have that,” Marcos said during a meeting with National Irrigation Administration (NIA) officials in Malacañang, as quoted by the Presidential Communications Office (PCO) in a news release.

The President, who stressed the importance of establishing big dams not only for irrigation but also for other purposes, met with NIA officials to discuss the agency’s strategic plans and projects for 2025.

NIA Administrator Eduardo Eddie Guillen presented to Marcos the agency’s objectives to enhance irrigation efficiency, ensure continuous operation of existing irrigation service areas, and maintain current irrigated lands.

Guillen said NIA has plans to improve service roads along irrigation canals.

Under NIA’s 2025 programs, activities and projects (PAPs), the agency allocated around PHP20.84 billion for the Pump Irrigation Sub-Program and PHP7.88 billion for Stage 2 of the Ilocos Norte-Ilocos Sub-Abra Irrigation Project (INISAIP).

About PHP2.49 billion would be earmarked for the Balog-Balog Multipurpose Project Phase II in Tarlac, while PHP99.5 million would be used for the Special Irrigation Sub-Program.

Guillen said the PAPs would incorporate technological interventions and modernization of irrigation systems to mitigate the effects of climate change.

Marcos said the government has enough savings to fund the irrigation projects, noting that there is around PHP22.882 billion in the 2025 General Appropriations Act.

The government is eyeing the completion of three to five big dam projects before Marcos’ term ends in 2028. These include the Tumauini River Multipurpose Project in Cagayan Valley, the Panay River Basin in Panay Island, and other projects in the Ilocos Region.

These are on top of the more or less 20 medium-scale irrigation projects that the NIA aims to construct under Marcos’ watch. (PNA)