2 NIA officials charged for ‘incompetence’

VETERAN newsman and National Irrigation Administration (NIA) administrator, Benny Diaz Antiporda, just sent a clear message to the country’s irrigation officials and employees that incompetence and lack of professionalism have no place in the agency after he approved the filing of administrative and criminal cases at the Ombudsman against 2 NIA executives.

At a press conference on Monday, September 19, 2022, at the NIA Central Office, Antiporda identified the accused as, Atty. Lloyd Allain Cudal, acting manager, Legal Services Department and, Atty. Mary Annabelle F. Cruz-Domingo, who handled the agency’s case against Green Asia Construction & Development Corporation (GACDC).

The two were charged for gross and inexcusable negligence, gross ignorance of the law, gross neglect of duty and grave misconduct under RA 3019 (Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act), violation of professional conduct under RA 6713 and violation of the Administrative Code of 1987.

The Green Asia case pertains to the long-delayed 22-kilometer project of irrigation canals and installations of steel gates from Nueva Ecija to Bulacan since 2016 associated with the Casecnan Multipurpose Irrigation and Power Project.

Subsequently, the contract was terminated in 2020 and early the following year, the NIA announced it has blacklisted Green Asia from participating or bidding on other projects.

However, the Construction Industry Arbitration Commission (CIAC) last February ruled in favor of the company and ordered NIA to pay a total of P205,958,199.77.

Antiporda lamented that NIA lost before the CIAC not on the merits of the case but on “technicality” after the two officials allegedly failed to perform their tasks and duties “with devotion, utmost diligence, and good faith.”

“This is the Green Asia Case, wherein NIA just lost PHP205 million, natalo po tayo dahil lang sa technicality (we lost due to simple technicality),” Antiporda said.

“They miserably failed to perform and discharge their duties with the highest degree of excellence, professionalism, intelligence, and skill. They caused to lose the right of NIA to appeal because of their sheer inefficiency, incompetence and lack of devotion and dedication to perform their duties,” a statement released by the NIA added.

Confident of not disappointing PBBM

In the same briefing, Antiporda said he is confident of “not disappointing” President Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos Jr. on his expectations about the agency’s contribution to the country’s agriculture sector, especially providing irrigation to nearly 1 million hectares of still unirrigated farmlands in the country by the end of the Marcos administration, contrary to one estimate that this would take at least 2 administrations to complete with a funding from Congress of more than P1 trillion.

The NIA is an attached agency of the agriculture department where the Chief Executive is also the concurrent secretary.

Aside from partnering with the private sector thru the ‘PPP’ (Public-Private Partnership), Antiporda said another recourse is thru the ‘PUP (Public-Public Partnership) where financially capable local government units (LGUs) would build the irrigation projects in their localities for subsequent turnover to NIA after an agreed period of time.

Antiporda said he intends to “open” NIA to all qualified contractors, locally and from abroad to also break the “monopoly” of a “select” group of contractors for big-ticket items. Presently, NIA is eyeing an additional 50 potential big-ticket irrigation projects nationwide.

At present, Antiporda said NIA already received a pledge of investment amounting to more than P1 trillion through Letters of Intent (LOI) submitted by different investors (with additional reports from the Philippine News Agency).