January 2017

Irrigation Chief eyes...

01/04/2017 - 2:18pm

NIA Administrator visits...

01/06/2017 - 4:13pm

NIA to assists JICA...

01/11/2017 - 2:20pm

NIA Chief warns...

01/17/2017 - 1:52pm

Irrigation Chief eyes Nat’l Planning Conference

January 4, 2017, 2:18 PM

NIA Administrator Peter Tiu Laviña graces the 1^st Flag Raising Ceremony of the agency this year at NIA Central Office, January 3, 2017.

The National Irrigation Administration (NIA) is set to hold a national planning conference next week to chart its new direction with the implementation of the free irrigation promise of President Rodrigo Duterte.

New Administrator Peter Tiu Laviña told NIA employees during the flag-raising ceremony marking the first working day of the 2017 that the conference will be held on January 9-11. He added that it will be attended by senior management officials coming from the Central Office, the regions and special project offices.

He said various focus teams will be formed thereafter to oversee the implementation of NIA's to fulfill a four-point agenda, namely, implementing free irrigation, constructing more irrigation projects, harnessing water resources for hydroelectric power and the institutional review of the agency.

“Sa bawat major na gagawin natin gagawa tayo ng focus teams, participatory ang magiging paraan natin that is why hindi lang manggagaling sa ating hanay ang magiging members nito”, he added

Laviña, who helped set up the Office of Participatory Governance in the Office of the President, said the focus teams with be composed of officials and staff from NIA, from relevant government agencies, from civil society groups and experts from the private sector.

The NIA chief is also planning to visit the irrigation systems all throughout the country together with its regional offices to see the actual situations of the facilities and farmers.

“Sa initial weeks of our work plano natin na ikutin ang buong bansa in the 1^st quarter of the year, starting tomorrow plano ko puntahan ang Region 6 at thereafter ang Region 4A”, he said.

NIA Administrator visits Region 6

January 6, 2017, 4:13 PM

January 4, 2017, Iloilo City - Newly appointed Administrator of National Irrigation Administration, Peter Tiu Laviña conducted his first field visit for 2017 in Region 6.

Administrator Laviña together with Region 6 Regional Manager, Engineer Gerardo P. Corsiga and Iloilo Guimaras Irrigation Management Office Manager, Engineer Florencio P. Colorado went to see the actual structures of the Santa Barbara River Irrigation System dam located at Brgy. Tungay, Sta. Barbara, Iloilo. The said dam is the oldest in Western Visayas, which was built on December 1, 1922.

He then proceeded to Barotac Viejo Small River Irrigation Project (BVSRIP) located at Brgy. Nueva Invencion, Barotac Viejo, Iloilo which is currently being jointly constructed by Oscar R. Sarmiento Construction, Inc. and Newington Builders, Inc. The project which is a 27.65 meters tall dam with crest length of 373.37 meters and crest width of 9.00 meters has a total catchment size of 50.40 square kilometers. It has a reservoir capacity of 11.084 mcm and inflow design of 874.60 cms which targets to irrigate 2,050 hectares.

A dialogue with the Administrator at EON Centennial Resort Hotel, Alta Tierra Village, Jaro, Iloilo City was conducted in the afternoon of the same day. It was attended by Iloilo Provincial Governor, Arthur D. Defensor, Sr., members of the Local Government Units, heads of other government agencies, NIA employees, representatives of Federation of Irrigators’ Association, farmers from old and new Irrigators’ Associations, Indigenous Peoples of Calinog, members of Hugpong Federal Movement, and members of the press.

In his message, Administrator Laviña discussed his four (4) point agenda namely: 1. Implementation of Free Irrigation Service Fee; 2. Construction of more irrigation projects; 3. Harness water resources for hydropower; and 4. Institutional review of NIA’s mandates, programs and activities in preparation for the federal form of government.

Also, he gave his full support to the implementation of two big projects which are the Jalaur River Multi-Purpose Project Stage II (JRMP II) and Panay River Basin Integrated Development Project (PRBIDP). Further, he cheered the NIA employees by assuring them that all the benefits such as CNA, PBB, VIG, and SSL4, which are due to them will be granted upon receipt of its legal basis.

“Let’s help each other and find solutions to all our constraints and be partners for change.” he stressed.

NIA to assists JICA Cambodia on Water Resources Management

January 11, 2017, 2:20 PM

NIA, Quezon City – NIA Administrator Peter Tiu Laviña welcomes the request from Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) Cambodia’s River Basin Water Resources Utilization Project (RBWRU) to gather information about water resources management in the country.

The letter specified that said information will serve as inputs to the design of the proposed Third-Country Training Program of JICA Cambodia’s RBWRU. The team is expected to visit the country on January 17-18, 2017.

They also wanted to see the Upper Pampanga River Integrated Irrigation Systems (UPRIIS) in Nueva, Ecija to know the current situation on Operation and Maintenance (O&M) of National Irrigation Systems (NIS) in the country.

Administrator Laviña is very open to coordinate with other agencies from neighboring countries as it will expose the country in international trend on irrigation and agriculture sector. He said that the visit is in time with the scheduled hosting of the Philippines for ASEAN Unity this year.

JICA Cambodia has been supporting the Ministry of Water Resources and Meteorology (MOWRAM) through the implementation of RBWRU since 2014. The project aims to establish coordination mechanism for water resources utilization in the target river basins in Cambodia.

NIA Chief warns contractors for delays; advises all for unauthorized use of his name

January 17, 2017, 1:52 PM

NIA, Quezon City – NIA Administrator Peter Tiu Laviña, last week, issued cautionary letter among the contractors who were behind the target date of the agreed project completion. This is in line with the new administration thrust to efficiently improve the existing irrigation facilities in a timely manner.

“Among my mandate is to give higher priority to the increase of irrigation area through rehabilitation of existing irrigation facilities”, Administrator Laviña noted.

The concerned contractors which attained very low or poor physical accomplishments as of December 2016 were given a warning by Office of the Administrator to urge them to improve their contract performances.

They were also directed to come up with their respective catch-up plans to address the delays. “We are giving you (contractors) 30 calendar days to submit your firm’s commitment to complete the obligated works as specified in the contract”, Laviña added.

Just recently, the Irrigation Chief told all the contractors dealing with NIA that he will not hesitate to suspend all the contractors who will fail to meet their obligations and will use sub-standard materials for the projects.

“We will impose necessary actions in accordance with the provisions in the contract documents once they failed to adhere to their obligations”, he said.

Meanwhile, Administrator Laviña also cleared his name for those who are deceitfully using his name and his office to gain favor and extort money from the NIA field offices.

“I would like to declare that I have never authorized anyone to use my name and my office in transacting business with the Agency”, he noted.

He asked all the NIA officials, employees, and stakeholders to directly report any questionable transactions involving his name to the Office of the Administrator at (02) 922-2795/926-4510 and look for Mr. Louell Requilman, Head Executive Assistant.