AGRICULTURE Secretary Emmanuel F. Piñol gave his go signal for the implementation of the P11.2-billion Jalaur River Multi-Purpose Project (JRMP), Senate President Franklin M. Drilon said on Sunday.
“I thank Secretary Piñol for his support and commitment to continue the implementation of the Jalaur project. His backing is vital for the smooth execution of this decades-old project, which was mandated by Republic Act [RA] 2651 in 1960,” Drilon said.
“Indeed, the implementation of the JRMP will play a crucial role in President Duterte’s commitment to provide ‘free, sufficient and efficient’ irrigation system to our farmers,” Drilon said.
Piñol made a courtesy call on the Senate chief on Thursday to discuss the administration’s projects, particularly the free irrigation advocacy.
In the meeting, Drilon said Piñol assured him that JRMP would “push through.”
The agriculture secretary even said “he will be on top of it,” Drilon added, in order to expedite its implementation.
Given Piñol’s support to the project, Drilon hopes that the National Irrigation Administration and other agencies involved in the project “can now get back to their feet and proceed with its implementation.”
“The JRMP will be vital in the administration’s advocacy of providing free irrigation for farmers since the project will provide uninterrupted irrigation water supply to 32,000 hectares of farmland and benefit more than 25,000 farmers,” Drilon stressed.
“This project, which will be the first large-scale reservoir dam outside of Luzon, will increase the irrigated lands in the region by around 10 percent and the annual regional rice production by around 5 percent. It will, likewise, expand the production areas of sugarcane and other crops,” he underscored.
The Senate chief also expressed his full support for Piñol’s free irrigation advocacy: “It is high time Congress pass a legislation that will provide for free irrigation system for farmers.”
“If we want to attain food security and rice self-sufficiency, then we must provide full and unconditional support for the poor farmers,” Drilon said.
He said JRMP will augment agricultural production; stimulate agri-industrial activities; spur the local economy and the ecotourism industry; increase employment opportunities; and contribute to the development of the province of Iloilo and the Western Visayas, in general.
The implementation of the JRMP was mandated under RA 2651 enacted by Congress in 1960. Phase 1 of the project, which consisted of rehabilitating the irrigation systems with an area of 22,340 hectares, was completed in 1983. But Phase 2 of the project was never implemented since 1988 due to lack of funds.
In 2012 the Korean government extended a P8.95-billion official development assistance to the Philippine government to implement the Phase 2 of JRMP. The country’s counterpart fund is P2.2 billion.
As a multipurpose project, JRMP will provide benefits, such as flood mitigation and control, and the promotion of ecotourism in selected reservoir areas, Drilon noted.
The project will also generate approximately 17,000 local jobs equivalent to P1.3 billion in basic wages per year, he said.