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San Miguel, Manila – Witnessed by President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., NIA Acting Administrator Engr. Eddie G. Guillen signed the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with other government officials and Go Negosyo heads on the Kapatid Angat Lahat for Agriculture Program (KALAP) on March 6, 2023 at the Malacañang Palace Ceremonial Hall.

As a public-private sector partnership initiative, KALAP aims to promote inclusive economic growth using Go Negosyo’s framework of providing micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) access to money, markets, and mentoring.

Together with the Department of Agriculture (DA), Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) with Go Negosyo heads, National Tobacco Administration (NTA), Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA), and National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP), the MOA Signing symbolizes the strong partnership of the public and private sectors to empower and scale up support for nation-building through the value chain integration of our country’s MSMEs, farmers, and fisherfolks to become more productive, profitable, sustainable, and globally competitive.

NIA Central Office – At last, after several dialogues and negotiations with the Bugkalot Indigenous Cultural Community/Indigenous Peoples (ICC/IPs) affected by the Casecnan Multipurpose Irrigation and Power Project (CMIPP) in the Provinces of Nueva Ecija and Nueva Vizcaya, the decades-long lingering issue involving the Bugkalots and the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) has finally ended.

Under the leadership of Acting Administrator Engr. Eduardo Eddie G. Guillen, the Bugkalot Indigenous Cultural Community/Indigenous Peoples voluntarily opened the barricades to the CMIPP in Barangay Pelaway, Alfonso Castañeda, Nueva Vizcaya on February 13, 2023 after the successful negotiation among the Bugkalot Ancestral Domain Environmental Management Council (BADEMC), Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corporation (PSALM), and the NIA, with the assistance of the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP).

Prior to this, the impacted Bugkalots received the advance payment of Disturbance Fee from the NIA and PSALM pursuant to the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) for Corporate Social Responsibility. This is part of the NIA and the Bugkalot IPs agreements to finally settle concerns and requests over the operation of the CMIPP situated within their ancestral domain. Continuing coordination between the NIA and the BADEMC is ongoing to ensure resolution to all issues surrounding the Bugkalots and CMIPP.