NIA to generate more community-based works nationwide

The National Irrigation Administration (NIA) said Tuesday it plans to increase beneficiaries of its Community-Based Employment Program (CBEP) this year, along with its thrust to build more irrigation projects nationwide. (Photo: National Irrigation Administration Region IV-B/Facebook)

MANILA—The National Irrigation Administration (NIA) said Tuesday it plans to increase beneficiaries of its Community-Based Employment Program (CBEP) this year, along with its thrust to build more irrigation projects nationwide.

Last year, the agency provided at least 66,340 employments to members of the local communities, where the project/s are being implemented.

Irrigation works include mostly of repair and maintenance of existing irrigation systems, repair of groundwater pump irrigation systems, climate change adaptation, Coconet slope protection, improvement of services roads, etc.

NIA Corporate Planning Services Acting Manager Rogelia Dela Torre noted that the agency, last year, apportioned an estimated amount of Php 24.13 million for the said program. “Kasama dito sa program na ito both yung locally funded and foreign assisted projects natin” she added.

Among the locally-funded projects are Casecnan Multipurpose Irrigation Project Phase (CMIPP) II in Nueva Ecija which provided at least 4,426 local jobs and Malitubog-Maridagao Irrigation Project Phase (MMIP) II in North Cotabato which generated 5,300 community-based employments. The Jalaur River Multipurpose Project (JRMP) II in Iloilo, one of the foreign assisted projects, delivered at least 1,787 jobs.

Started decades ago, the CBEP has been a regular component of NIA’s infrastructure program and included in its annual programs. The agency aims to continually provide labor-based methods, particularly on small, rural-based projects to help the community as a whole.

The CBEP is among the priority programs which aim to contribute to the national goal of inclusive growth, poverty reduction, and job creation, particularly in the countryside or the local community.

Under this program, various government agencies enroll infrastructure and/or non-infrastructure projects that will provide temporary or immediate employment to skilled, semi-skilled, and low-skilled workers in the target communities where the projects are implemented.