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NIA Central Office - In light of recent developments, the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) implements a lockdown considering that as of June 30, 2020, the Agency has recorded three confirmed cases of COVID-19, although the said employees are not reporting to work since June 11, 2020 and June 19, 2020.

For the period of July 01-07, 2020, NIA Central Office will adopt Work-from-Home Arrangement, while essential personnel will continue to report for work as necessary. Following this arrangement, for the period of July 08-14, 2020, NIA Central Office will implement a combination of Skeleton Workforce and Work-from-Home Arrangement.

After the recently reported COVID-19 case, NIA immediately adhered to the necessary protocols of subjecting all Central Office employees to Rapid Testing. All employees who underwent the first batch of test at Veterans Memorial Medical Center turned out to be negative. However, there were a number of employees who tested positive had to undergo further tests.

Meanwhile, disinfection of vehicles, buildings, and premises, and installation of office protective coverings were conducted to prevent and control the spread of the virus. Similarly, face shields, face masks, hygiene kits, and multivitamins for employees, and Ultraviolet (UV) Disinfecting Germicidal Sterilizer Light per office were provided by the Agency.

NIA Region III – The National Irrigation Administration (NIA), headed by Administrator Ricardo R Visaya, and the Provincial Government of Bulacan, headed by Governor Daniel R. Fernando, conducted an ocular inspection of Angat Afterbay Regulator Dam (Bustos Dam) located at Barangay Tibagan, Bustos, Bulacan on June 09, 2020 after the recently reported collapse of the Rubber Gate No. 5.

Upon site inspection, a meeting was held among the officials of NIA, Provincial Government of Bulacan, and ITP Construction, Inc. – Guangxi Hydroelectric Construction Bureau Co., Ltd. Consortium (Contractor) to discuss matters arising from the incident.

Since the replacement of the rubber bladder is part of the 20-year warranty period policy from 2017 to 2037, a cofferdam is now being constructed by the Contractor, without any cost to NIA, to ensure that irrigation will be provided and the farming activities of the farmers will not be hampered. Completion of the said cofferdam is due on July 15, 2020.

To further guarantee the integrity of the rubber bladder, a material testing will be undertaken by a third party contractor either in Singapore or Australia and will be carried out by July. All six rubber bladders of Bustos Dam were agreed to be replaced as permanent solution to its damages.