Senator Raffy Tulfo questions the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) for requesting P261 million annually for the repair and maintenance of the unfinished and non-operational Balog-Balog Multipurpose Project Phase II in San Jose, Tarlac.
In the Senate Finance Committee hearing on Tuesday, Tulfo raised concerns about the NIA's request for a P47.5 million budget for 2025, asking why the agency needed the funds when there was no operational project to maintain.
Tulfo presented to the committee several photos of the project, showing that it remains unfinished, even though it is supposed to irrigate 34,000 hectares of farmland.
Senator Imee Marcos, the sponsor of the NIA's budget, explained that the funds are being used for the maintenance of Balog-Balog Phase I.
Tulfo opposed this, pointing out that the 2023 budget clearly specifies that the requested funds are for Phase II of the project.
The NIA’s stance shifted, explaining that the P261 million has not been used and will be allocated next year, pending approval from the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Investment Coordination Committee to extend the government’s deadline until 2028.
In light of this, the NIA stated that they will not request funding for the repair and maintenance costs of the Balog-Balog Multipurpose Project Phase II for 2025.
However, the cost of the dam is expected to rise to P18.8 billion if the project is extended until 2028, up from the original project cost of P14.5 billion.
The Balog-Balog dam project was initiated 50 years ago.
The senators previously decided to investigate the NIA through the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee because of its unresolved projects.
