CITY OF SAN FERNANDO -- Regional Director Manuel Collado of the National Irrigation Authority (NIA) recently sought the help of the Pampanga Provincial Government to complete the construction of irrigation systems in some areas of the province.
Despite what Collado said as the province being “fortunate” for getting a big chunk of NIA’s budget allocation as compared to other provinces in Central Luzon, he admitted that a lot of things have to be done in the construction of irrigation systems here.
“Sa kasalukuyan po ay 51 percent palang ang natatapos sa ating mga proyekto sa irrigasyon kung kaya’t marami pa tayong kailangan pang gawin,” he said.
“Ang kabuuang budget allocation po ng aming ahensiya para sa Pampanga ay umabot ng may P180 million. Ito ay halos 40 percent ng kabuuang allocation para sa buong Central Luzon,” he added.
But he told officials that a few projects were left unfinished due to insufficient funding.
With this, he believed with the support of the Provincial Government, ongoing irrigation works in Anao, Mexico, including the eroded section of the Pampanga Delta in Sta. Catalina in San Luis town would be completed.
It was learned that the main canal lining of the Pampanga Delta in Sta. Catalina was destroyed due to the road widening project implemented by the Department of Public Works and Highways.
Collado claimed that the road widening was made without proper coordination with them which led to the erosion of the main canal.