LA TRINIDAD, Benguet – The Cordillera office of the National Irrigation Administration (NIA-CAR) will conduct a public bidding for the twenty packages of works within the various portions of the Upper Chico Irrigation System (UCRIS) amounting to at least P170 million so that it could service more areas.
Engr. John Socalo, NIA-CAR regional irrigation manager, said the bid documents are still undergoing review by the NIA central office technical personnel and representatives of the World Bank to make sure that the conditions and other procedures will comply with the provisions of Republic Act 9184 or the Government Procurement Law.
He said the contract for the overall rehabilitation of UCRIS totaling P425 million was unilaterally terminated by the government because of the failure of the contractor, Macbelt Policarpio, to finish the programmed works even when it was granted several extensions to complete the pending works.
“We are optimistic that we will be able to bid out the remaining works this coming October once the review of the bid documents by our personnel in the central office is finalized. We want all the works to be completed the soonest so that more farms will be irrigated and rice production in the Cordillera will definitely improve once the project will be completed.” Socalo stressed.
The NIA-CAR official claimed the remaining funds for the projects were divided into at least 20 packages so that more contractors can work on the project aimed at providing sufficient irrigation to farmers not only in the province but also in nearby Quezon, Isabela servicing over 11,000 hectares of agricultural farms in Kalinga and Quezon, Isabela
According to him, the remaining works include the completion of the lining of the main canal and its laterals to avoid unnecessary slippages of water so that it could freely flow up to the unirrigated areas at the far end of the irrigation system in Quezon, Isabela.
Socalo explained the projects to be subjected to public bidding will now be under the supervision and control of the NIA that is why he assured local officials and residents that the projects will be closely monitored to make sure that contractors will be implementing their works pursuant to project standards and specifications.
The rehabilitation of UCRIS is one of the foreign-assisted projects under the Philippine Irrigation Development Program primarily bankrolled by the World Bank to improve the country’s agriculture sector and provide farmers with better income and sources of livelihood.
Socalo admitted the terminated contractor of the UCRIS project tried to seek reconsideration for the earlier unilateral termination of the contract because of blatant slippages but the committee stood firm on its decision to teach him a lesson and to make sure that similar problems in other areas will not be repeated because it will be the farmers who will lose under such substandard projects.
He is optimistic that more contractors from Kalinga and other neighboring areas will participate in the scheduled bidding.
By HENT
