00:00 The positioning of seedlings for El Niño vulnerable farmlands and security in food and water.
00:06 That is what we will discuss with the National Irrigation Administration Administrator,
00:12 Engineer Eduardo Guillen.
00:14 Engineer Guillen, good afternoon sir.
00:17 Good afternoon ma'am. Good afternoon to everyone.
00:20 The NIA and the GNR met to repurpose irrigation water.
00:26 How will this help in ensuring the water security of the country?
00:31 Well, before ma'am, the water of the NIA was only for irrigation.
00:35 Now, we saw that we have a lot of excess because if you will notice,
00:40 we have been using our water for irrigation for almost 6 months.
00:45 So, we repurposed this to help with the domestic water supply,
00:51 of course, power generation, and of course aquaculture, and also for tourism.
00:59 So, it will help more people.
01:03 So, this means that not only agriculture will use this excess irrigation water,
01:11 where else can this be used?
01:14 Well, again, our excess water, according to what we have obtained,
01:18 with NWRB and the Water Resource Management Office of the DNR,
01:25 we can repurpose this for domestic water supply.
01:31 We can also use this for tourism purposes, and of course, power generation.
01:42 So, we are still studying a lot of other ways to use this.
01:48 So, this is for the whole country, what can be repurposed with excess water.
01:54 How will you do tourism, sir?
01:57 For example, in our big lake, we can do fishing or water recreation,
02:08 or in our dams, we can do water recreation activities.
02:15 It's good that you went there.
02:18 Those places are also an alternative for the whole family to go there.
02:23 Sir, how much excess water do we use for irrigation?
02:29 As I mentioned earlier, ma'am,
02:31 if I'm honest, we have been using our water for almost 6 months.
02:36 So, we can consider using almost half of it for repurposing.
02:44 So, for the many dams and the many water needs, especially for domestic water supply,
02:52 we think this is a big thing that can help our water concessionaires.
03:01 If you don't repurpose this, will it be a waste?
03:06 Why did we just think of this?
03:08 It will be a waste, of course, it will go back to the water or it will be thrown away.
03:13 So, it's a waste.
03:14 This is good news, sir, because there are other ways to use the water instead of wasting it.
03:20 But what are the government's plans, especially the NIA, to ensure our water security?
03:27 Well, like what we're doing now, we have proposed construction of high dams,
03:34 our diversion dams, and of course, our convergence projects with DPWH and DA.
03:42 We have a lot of plans now for our Hall of Government Approach, which our President calls it.
03:51 We are now helping different government agencies to maximize the use of our water.
03:59 And with that, sir, in the El Niño discussion,
04:03 NIA has already prepositioned seedlings in El Niño vulnerable farmlands.
04:08 What is the purpose of this?
04:10 Well, now, the regional managers of DA and NIA are talking.
04:16 We are planning now, we are looking at what our farmers want to plant,
04:23 and according to the field rise, what is the best variety.
04:26 So, the good thing now, ma'am, is that we will provide the right assistance,
04:34 especially to the input, these seedlings, to the places and what our farmers really need.
04:41 This is their order, in other words.
04:43 So, we are having a discussion now, NIA is making a list,
04:47 the order of our farmers, and we are giving it to DA,
04:51 and DA is the one who is procuring the needs.
04:54 So, nothing is wasted.
04:56 Has the government of farmlands that are vulnerable to El Niño already mentioned it, sir?
05:02 And how many or how wide are these?
05:06 Well, according to the forecast of Weather Bureau, we irrigated 20% of the land,
05:13 so that is around 250,000 hectares are affected.
05:17 And the vulnerable, according to our Weather Bureau,
05:22 are the Ilocos region, Central Luzon, Central Luzon is big,
05:28 and of course, Mimaropa, the Sucsargen area in Mindanao, Western and Central Visayas,
05:37 and Sambuanga Peninsula.
05:40 These are the ones we saw that are vulnerable to El Niño.
05:43 Is this El Niño, in the places that you mentioned, already started, Director?
05:50 There are areas already, like in Mindanao, Visayas,
05:53 there are areas that we monitored that we can really feel it.
05:58 Okay, the others are not yet starting or are already there?
06:01 According to the forecast, they are already starting, but there is still rain in some areas.
06:05 But again, according to our Weather Bureau, we expect that there will be rain first,
06:10 but eventually, we can really feel it.
06:14 The probability is high.
06:16 Yes, because that's what some are saying, they are asking,
06:19 "It's raining in their areas, but El Niño is like that, it will rain first, then we will feel it."
06:27 So when 2024 comes, the probability is really high, we can really feel it.
06:35 Sir, how is this process, like from before, where are the excess water going,
06:42 and now, how will we give to the El Niño-prone areas, the excess water?
06:49 Well, before, again, our water permit was only for irrigation,
06:56 so whatever excess water is there, of course, we will return it or it will be thrown into the river again.
07:06 But now, we can talk to the water concessionaires, and they can get or buy our bulk water,
07:16 through bulk water.
07:17 But ma'am, let's remember that NIA is a free irrigation act,
07:23 so we need additional income from our irrigation revenues.
07:31 So, this is also an additional revenue from NIA, so this will also help us not to rely too much on funds from the national government.
07:41 So, it has helped our fellowmen, it also added income to NIA, and that's very good.
07:47 But sir, what is the relationship between NIA and the Department of Agriculture
07:51 for the planting of these seedlings, and when is this plan to start?
07:56 We have already started, ma'am. Again, our regional directors are always having meetings.
08:03 We even have a group chat now. Before, we don't talk.
08:07 Before, there was no group chat. You don't talk, you have your own world, or now you have a world.
08:14 It's digital.
08:15 Because again, the whole of government supports what our President wants.
08:19 He wants that there is nothing wasted in our resources.
08:22 Our farmers already feel the right assistance from them because we already have a planning.
08:30 This is what's good about national irrigation because our Irrigators Association is complete,
08:37 and we have what we call cropping calendar planning.
08:41 So, if you are planning now, we are already with the DA, the PhilRise, and other government agencies
08:47 so that they can help us in our goal of having food security.
08:55 They will really give it to us at the right time.
08:59 Yes, the action is direct, sir. You said that there is already a group chat for the whole of government approach.
09:05 But sir, with that, how important is it to build dams for the water and food security of the country?
09:12 This is important because you know, when we have high dams, what I call,
09:17 it's the rainy season, we can save water and we can use it during dry season.
09:24 So, what that means is that our food production is more secure.
09:30 And aside from helping in controlling or mitigating flood, there are many other benefits that we can give,
09:38 like power generation. So, these high dams are really important.
09:47 So, good luck, sir. I hope you can build more dams because it's not enough to meet the food security that our President is aiming for.
09:58 Yes, ma'am. And we are very thankful to our President and to the Congress now
10:05 because they saw the importance of our needs.
10:09 So, what they want is to increase our budget to meet our needs in producing food and water.
10:21 So, it's a big help.
10:23 Okay, sir. Thank you very much again for joining us.
10:28 Thank you.
10:29 And for the information that you shared with us, we have a guest, National Irrigation Administration Administrator Engineer Eduardo Guillen.
10:38 Thank you.
10:39 Thank you.
10:40 (dramatic music)
