Observers say Antiporda did nothing concrete while he was at NIA to prepare the country’s agricultural sector for the anticipated long dry spell
Earlier in July, the Philippines was facing a very serious water supply problem.
Water concessionaires in Metropolitan Manila, the region which apparently uses the largest volume of water in the country, announced plans to cut water distribution to keep the water supply viable until the situation improves.
Those plans, however, were changed by the many typhoons that suddenly came to the country.
The water levels in the country’s dams rose to levels high enough to secure the nation’s water security for the meantime, estimated to last for only about three months.
Then there is the anticipated El Niño phenomenon, which means a protracted period of intense dryness, as well the unmitigated effects of global warming.
So far, the prognosis on the water supply situation in the Philippines is not very encouraging, particularly for the agricultural industry that depends on irrigation.
The National Irrigation Administration is the government agency tasked to, among others, monitor and develop available water resources for irrigation purposes, and to address all concerns regarding the supply of water for nationwide irrigation throughout the year.
A certain Benny Antiporda was the Acting NIA administrator for the substantial part of 2022.
News reports available online reveal that Antiporda has been at the center of a number of alleged irregularities in government service.
It appears that back in September 2020, Antiporda, who was then an undersecretary of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, was questioned about the costly dolomite beach constructed by the DENR along a segment of the coast of Manila Bay.
The dolomite was shipped in from Cebu.
According to the news reports, ex-Kabataan partylist representative Terry Ridon publicly asked Antiporda to explain why the dolomite beach was overpriced at P389-million, with P360-million remaining unaccounted for.
Scientists from the University of the Philippines Marine Science Institute and an official of the Archdiocese of Manila also questioned Antiporda about the beach project.
The scientists maintained the project staunchly defended by Antiporda is bad for the environment.
In response, Antiporda insisted at P389-million the dolomite beach project was not overpriced.
For reasons unknown, Antiporda eventually deviated from the issue and criticized Ridon for the latter’s past travel expenses.
Sarcastically, Antiporda offered to give Ridon a lecture on basic mathematics.
Impertinently, Antiporda branded the UPMSI scientists “paid hacks” of undisclosed interests groups, and, as such, the scientists have no right to criticize the dolomite beach project.
Ridon replied he did not need any math lecture from Antiporda because he (Ridon) took up finance and economics at the University of the Philippines and at Harvard University in the United States.
Thereafter, a group of Filipino scientists demanded Antiporda’s resignation from the DENR for his rude remarks about the UPMSI scientists.
Actually, Antiporda’s statement that the UPMSI scientists have no right to question the dolomite beach project is baseless, patently mistaken and legally untenable because P389-million in taxpayers’ money was involved in Antiporda’s project.
Being so, the public at large had, undoubtedly, the right to question the cost of the project.
In June 2022, a columnist from another publication revealed that Antiporda made a pseudoscientific attempt to justify the dolomite beach project through a supposed aquarium experiment.
The columnist said Antiporda’s experiment was criticized by many for its lack of scientific parameters.
Later in November 2022, when Antiporda was already with the NIA, the Office of the Ombudsman put Antiporda under preventive suspension for six months without pay, pending the investigation of complaints filed against him by NIA employees.
The complaints accused Antiporda of grave misconduct, harassment and oppression.
According to the complaints, Antiporda threatened NIA employees, bullied them during the weekly flag-raising ceremony, maligned them through the media, misled President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. about certain public-private partnership deals, and required NIA technicians to repair the air-conditioners at the Antiporda residence.
It was also alleged that when Antiporda was still acting NIA administrator, he repeatedly demanded that the word “acting” be dropped from his official title.
In December 2022, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. finally fired Antiporda.
When he was still the acting chief of the NIA, what did Antiporda do to prepare for the dry times predicted for agricultural irrigation nationwide?
Observers say Antiporda did nothing concrete while he was at NIA to prepare the country’s agricultural sector for the anticipated long dry spell.
That’s bad news for the agricultural sector and the general public as well.
