Super Region Irrigation Project boosts farmers' confidence in wake of El Niño
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GUIMBA, Nueva Ecija – Even with the long dry weather brought by the El Nino phenomenon, farmers here are
confident it will have minimal effects on their crops because of the ongoing rehabilitation of the Casecnan Multi
Purpose Irrigation and Power Project (CMIPP) which President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo inspected today.
The project, a priority concern of the Arroyo administration to cushion the impact of the dry spell, involves the
rehabilitation of the Upper Pampanga River Integrated Irrigation System (UPRIIS) and the development of new
areas for irrigation totaling 16,879 hectares. It includes the repair, upgrading and modification of deteriorated
irrigation facilities and structures to improve irrigation delivery and distribution efficiency in the 102,000-hectare
service area of the UPRIIS.
The service area includes the cities of San Jose and Munoz, part of Talugtug and Licab including this
municipality in Nueva Ecija and a portion of Victoria in Tarlac.
“Malaking tulong ito, lalo na ngayong El Nino (This is big help especially now that there is El Nino),” said one
farmer member of the irrigators association here. “Hindi na masyadong mapipinsala ang mga pananim namin
kahit na may El Nino pa. (Our crops will not be affected so much).”
Glorya sa Bagong Milenyo Irrigators Association President Francisco Tolentino on the other hand assured, that
Nueva Ecija will not be affected by the dry spell because there is enough water in the Canseca Dam which
supplies water to the irrigation system.
President Arroyo herself inaugurated the first phase of the CMIPP in January 2007 that supplied water to the first
10,000 hectares of farmland in Munoz up to this town. The project increased palay production by 269,200 metric
tons, enough to feed about 1.37 million people in a year. In 2008, a total of 49,725 hectares of irrigable area
were constructed and rehabilitated.
The irrigation project is expected to stimulate economic growth and development in the North Luzon
Agribusiness Quadrangle composed of Ilocos Region, Cagayan Valley Region, Cordillera Administrative
Region (CAR), and the northern part of Central Luzon. The irrigation constituent of Casecnan Dam is a big super
region project intended to improve the lives of small farmers.
Upon her arrival at Barangay Naglabrahan here, the President was welcomed by Nueva Ecija Gov. Aurelio
Umali, Guimba Mayor Boyito Dizon, Presidential Assistant for Central Luzon Lorelei Fajardo, PNP-PRO 3 Dir.
C/Superintendent Leon Nito de la Cruz and 7th Infantry Division Commander Brig/Gen. Ireneo Espino.
Also on hand at the inspection site were National Irrigation Administration OIC Alexander Reuyan, CMIPP
Manager Alexander Coloma, and UPRIIS Operations Manager Antonio Nangel.
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Hard and soft approach to peace - PGMA
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Baguio City -- President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo today called on newly inducted military officers — the 226
graduates of the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) -- to sustain her two-pronged approach to restore lasting
peace in strife-torn Mindanao and other insurgency-affected areas.
Speaking at the 105th graduation ceremonies at the PMA, the President said a combination of military action
and development tools, especially in Mindanao, has stabilized the region and ushered in economic development
“I trust that you, young officers of our Armed Forces, will apply the same hard and soft approach to achieve
lasting peace in Mindanao and other insurgency affected areas”, said the President and Commander-in-Chief of
the armed forces.
The Chief Executive explained development tools refer to roads, bridges, schools, ports and infrastructure
projects which have been the focus of her Super Region visits over the past five weeks.
The President said that while lasting peace is has yet to be achieved in Mindanao, her government is working
hard, at heavy political risks, to broker peace.
“We have reached within the affected communities to change the peace paradigm,” she said, citing specifically
the help many countries are extending to enhance the on-going talks between the government and the Moro
Islamic Liberation Front.
“We have brought together an amazing international consensus to aid the process from outside. Japan,
Australia, the US, United Kingdom, the Organization of Islamic Conference nations and Malaysia and so many
others now have vested interest in peace in Mindanao, “ she stressed.
On the issue of terrorism, the President said the government has been successful. “We have narrowed down
the lair of hardcore terrorists in the South and continue to limit and confine the communist insurgency which is
sputtering on empty fumes.”
“As a result of all these, the people are safer now, ” she said as she expressed gratitude to the troops.
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PGMA inaugurates Phase II of Halsema Highway
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MT. DATA, Bauko, Mountain Province -- President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo inaugurated here today the second
phase of the newly-rehabilitated Halsema Highway, the so-called "aorta" of the Cordillera Autonomous Region's
road system, in ceremonies held at the foot of the Mt. Data bridge.
The President led the unveiling of the marker and drive-thru along the bridge with Agriculture Secretary Arthur
Yap, Public Works Secretary Victor Domingo, and local executives led by Mt. Province Governor Maximo Dalog,
Mt. Province lone district caretaker Manuel Agyao, Bauko Mayor Simon Lacuasan and Presidential Assistant for
CAR Tom Killip.
In her speech, the President said the Halsema Highway is a fitting tribute to the "hardy and hardworking" people
of the Cordilleras, who together with Regions 1, 2 and the northern provinces of Central Luzon form the North
Luzon Agribusiness Quadrangle, one of five growth areas identified by the President in her 2006 strategic
development plan.
"The rugged north of our country has some of the most hardy and hardworking people in the Philippines. The
long history of grit and determination of our farmers and small business producers have kept this nation moving
forward," the President said.
"Hardworking people want good jobs, good wages, and good education for your children. Hardworking people
want improved roads and bridges in order to get to work and conduct business, and that is why we have built
what we call the aorta or the main artery of the Cordillera's road system -- the Halsema Highway," she added.
Residents here consider the second phase of the P1.96 billion La Trinidad-Mt. Data-Banaue section of the
Halsema Highway “a dream come true.”
NLAQ Project Manager Rolando Imperial said the project was one of the best things that ever happened to the
people of Benguet and the neighboring provinces.
He said the highway has cut travel time between Baguio and Bontoc from seven hours to four hours and 30
minutes. It has also, according to him, lessened the occurrence of landslides during the rainy season .
Loreto Buyaan, one of two resident farmer-beneficiaries of the project, told the President that the Halsema
Highway has spurred commerce and provided employment opportunities for the people of CAR.
He said that vegetable growers are no longer worried that their produce will be spoiled because travel time from
their farm to centers of commerce in other cities has been dramatically reduced , thus ensuring freshness and
high return of investment.
He added that more and more farmers are also able to purchase their own vehicles to transport produce to the
market.
Henry Dalog, a carpenter hired to help build the Mt. Data Bridge, was grateful to the Chief Executive for the
employment opportunities offered by the Halsema Highway project.
He appealed to the President to create more jobs for the people of CAR through other infrastructure
development projects.
There will be many more infrastructure and agriculture development jobs available in the region," President
arroyo told him.
The Halsema Highway is named after a former mayor of Baguio City and former District Engineer of the Benguet
Bureau of Public Works in the 30s who initiated construction works for the highway from La Trinidad to Bontoc.
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PGMA thanks private sector for joining TPLEX project
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ROSALES, Pangasinan--- President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo today expressed thanks to the private sector for
participating in the financing, designing, building and soon, operating the P11.954 billion Tarlac-Pangasinan-La
Union Expressway (TPLEX), Luzon’s newest expressway.
During a inspection and briefing here, the President took note of the announcement by Philippine Infrastructure
Development Corp (PIDC) chairman Rogelio Morga that DM Consunji, leader of the private consortium, wants
the construction to be fast-tracked 22 months to only 18 months.
The President explained before brief local executives and residents of Pangasinan on the actual benefits to be
derived from the private-sector-assisted expressway “not just in cutting down transport time for goods and
services but also in spurring economic growth for all the provinces to be linked by this vital road artery.”
The President told residents of Rosales that once completed, TPLEX will bring economic growth to Rosales that
it will soon become Rosales City someday.”
Presidential Management Staff (PMS) Chief Secretary Hermogenes Esperon Jr. said that in keeping with
President Arroyo’s State Of the Nation Address (SONA) in 2006 and her announcement last Feb.6 to expedite
the acquisition through expropriation for the road right of way (RROW), a one stop shop Public Assistance
Center was organized with concerned agencies to help in the acquisition and negotiation.
“Of the 154 SONA commitments, 47 national projects have been delivered “but many more will be completed by
April to June,” Esperon said in an interview.
“You can see that with the Urban Luzon Beltway, there is a seamless high speed land travel from Batangas
through the South Luzon Expressway through C5, to North Luzon Expressway and to Subic Clark Tarlac
Expressway and finally TPLEX,” Esperon said.
The 88.58 kilometer expressway will come in two lanes initially or until such time it reaches the 25,000 daily
vehicular load when it will be expanded to four lanes.
It will comprise eight interchanges and 13 bridges which will spur development along the Northern corridor by
providing easy access to the north’s economic growth areas that include Baguio City, a prime tourist spot where
a special economic zone caters to international firms like Texas Instruments Philippines Inc. and the Cordillera
Region’s total exports.
Other cities that will benefit are Urdaneta City, the commercial center of eastern Pangasinan and where market
complexes and cattle trading centers are located and San Fernando City where the Poro Point Special
Economic Zone is located.
The President came here with Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap and was met at the Air Transport Office landing
zone by Presidential Adviser for Region 1 Ernie Mendoza, PIDC Chairman Morga, PIDC Director George
Consunji and by San Miguel Corp. president/CEO Ramon Miguel.
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PGMA stresses importance of technology, good education
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Fort Del Pilar, Baguio City--- President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo today underscored before the new graduates of
the country’s premiere military school the importance of technology and good education.
Speaking at the 105th Commencement Exercises of the Philippine Military Academy ''Masidlak'' Class 2010 at
the Borromeo Grounds here, the President, stressed the importance of education as foundation of the country’s
progress. She also underscored the need for better communication skills and technology for a better future
especially for the youth.
''Education and technology are the twin pillars upon which the future of this nation rests,'' she said.
The President pointed out that the ''foundation of opportunity is education. It is the key to a better life; it opens
minds and open doors.''
She noted that aside from good communication skills, ''we must recognize that a strong education must be
accompanied by a strong backbone in technology to build the mind and connect to the world.''
For the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) to be not just the training ground for officers of the Armed Forces but to
be the center of academic excellence in the north, the President said she has ordered a curriculum review at
PMA to be undertaken by a commission chaired by Dr. Consuelo Estefa of the University of Santo Tomas
Graduate School.
The President said the new curriculum, which will be used for the new batch entrants, ''must conform not only to
the needs of the AFP but also to the requirements'' of the PMA as the center of academic excellence in North
Luzon.
The President noted that in the 1990's and earlier, the PMA curriculum was heavy with engineering courses. The
alumni had recommended less engineering subjects and more on communication skills.
''We have a deep desire to see a brighter future for our hardworking men and women of this nation,'' the
President said as she vowed to remain hands-on and dedicated in pushing, advancing and promoting for a
better education and technology infrastructure in her last months in office.
''We have come this far in both but we have far more to go and we must not rest. We have made progress but
more needs to be done,'' the President said.
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