In observance of the Holy Week, the Philippine News Agency’s online news service will be off on March 29, Good Friday, and March 30, Black Saturday. Normal operations will resume on March 31, Easter Sunday.

— The Editors

217 irrigation projects in Cordillera completed: NIA

By Liza Agoot

April 4, 2019, 7:43 pm

LA TRINIDAD, Benguet-- An official of the National Irrigation Administration- Cordillera Administrative Region (NIA-CAR) on Thursday reported the completion of 217 irrigation projects in the region.

The figure represents 73 percent accomplishment as of March 2019 as the remaining 61 projects are expected to be done by June this year, said Benito Espique, regional manager of the NIA-CAR.

“From the calamities that Cordillera experienced like ‘Rosita’ and ‘Ompong’ that damaged agricultural areas and delays the project, NIA would target to finish all projects at the end of June this year,” Espique said.

Both typhoons had left the whole region in shambles, destroying several infrastructures and crops and killing scores of people in their wake.

The province of Ifugao has 48 irrigation projects with an accomplishment rate of 58.76 percent or a total of 34 projects completed. The finished projects now bring irrigation water to 15,000 hectares of unserved areas.

Apayao province has a total of 18 projects with an accomplishment rate of 29.13 percent, bringing irrigation water to 9.8 hectares of land.

Espique said if the remaining 70.87 percent of the projects in Apayao will be completed, it will irrigate an additional area of 24,031 hectares.

Benguet province has 39 projects, registering an accomplishment rate of 85.7 percent while Kalinga has a 60 percent accomplishment rate, benefitting 26,778 hectares of farmlands.

Abra’s 28 projects are now 87 percent complete and Mountain Province has recorded an 89 percent completion rate that is benefiting 30,600 hectares of farmlands in the province.

Espique said they are still awaiting approval of the national budget so they could start to implement plan for 2019 to further improve and add to the existing irrigation facilities in the Cordillera. (with reports from Janice Dioas and Rubenson Bilag, OJT/PNA)

Comments