At least 22 agricultural dams have been built in the country since Ferdinand Marcos Sr. was toppled in 1986, contrary to the claim of his daughter and presidential sister, Sen. Imee Marcos, that none have been constructed.
Marcos, a re-electionist in this May’s elections, said no new irrigation infrastructure has been developed since her father’s time during the Pandesal Forum in Quezon City on March 22:
Mula pa noong panahon ng tatay ko, we never invested in agricultural infrastructure. Hindi naman tayo nagpalawak ng irigasyon. Wala nang bagong irrigation, ‘yan ang problema. So, noon pa, ‘yung irigasyon natin, kung ano ‘yung natira noong time ng tatay ko, siya pa rin ang natitira (Since my father’s time, we never invested in agricultural infrastructure. We didn’t expand irrigation. There’s no new irrigation and that’s the problem. So, whatever irrigation was left from my father’s time is still all there is).
Three reservoirs built during the Marcos regime — Angat, Magat and Pantabangan — remain major water sources in the Philippines. However, construction of no fewer than 22 new large irrigation dams was completed between 1995 and 2022, based on data from the National Irrigation Administration, National Power Corp., Japan International Cooperation Agency and the Asian Development Bank.
These dams span 12 provinces in six regions across the country.
Nueva Ecija and Bohol each have four. Negros Oriental has three. Pangasinan and Misamis Oriental have two each, while Bataan, Bulacan, Iloilo, Negros Occidental, Cebu, Agusan del Norte, and Davao del Sur each have one.
Meanwhile, NIA has begun constructing 23 “national irrigation projects” worth P85.66 billion, according to its 2023 annual report. It is investing in 17 smaller “multi-oriented” dams totaling P21.36 billion for irrigating farms, controlling floods, generating electricity and boosting local tourism.
As of press time, her Pandesal Forum appearance has garnered over 39,000 views and 6,100 shares on Kamuning Bakery Cafe’s Facebook page. She reposted the video on her own Facebook account, generating more than 5,800 reactions and 2,000 shares.
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