Lack of water at
dam feared

Insufficiency of the much- needed water supply to fill Bayongan Dam, situated in barangay Bayongan, San Miguel town may not serve well the targeted 3,605 farmer-beneficiaries, who composed the 16 irrigator associations of the towns of Ubay, San Miguel and Trinidad.

These were the fears expressed by some sectors affected by the P3.6-billion Bayongan Dam project, also known as the Bohol Irrigation Project (BHIP) Stage 2.

In an interview, former Gov. David B. Tirol told the Chronicle that Bayongan Dam will be dependent on its water supply from Malinao Dam, also known as Bohol Irrigation Project (BHIP) stage 1, located in Pilar town.

Tirol said that his 50-hectare rice field located within the covered service area of Malinao Dam had already been leveled off into rice paddies, hoping that it can avail of water supply. But it appeared that his efforts came to naught because until now, he said, the water did not literally reach his property at barangay Estaca, Pilar town. He added that he already spent some P2 million for the leveling of his lands.

In an exclusive interview with the Chronicle, Tirol said that "the leveling is correctly done. The elevation is the proper elevation but the problem is sufficiency of supply of water."

"The success of the project depends on the ability of Malinao Dam to spill excess water to Bayongan Dam," according item No. 27 of the Project Evaluation Report of NEDA ICC, signed by Roderick M. Planta, OIC director, PMS.

The report quoted NIA's data that Malinao Dam could only irrigate 65% of the service area of some 4,900 hectares during wet season and 53% during dry spell.

Non-government organizations are quick to ask how can Malinao Dam supply water to Bayongan Dam when it cannot even serve its target clientele within its service area after its completion years back?

Barangay captain Demetrio Carnice Jr. of Los Angeles, Ubay town, who also attended the inauguration last week estimated that Bayongan Dam's water is only 30% and the 70% comes from Malinao Dam. He said that it would only take two to three months for Bayongan Dam water to supply the needed irrigation when long dry spell hits the area.

Right now, he said, Bayongan Dam attained only about 42 meters still far from the desired 52 meters despite the onset of rainy days.

For his part, Janiel Golosino, president of the Bayongan-Capayas Federation of Irrigators Association (BCFIA), described Bayongan Dam as "rain-fed" and that 50% of its water is coming from Malinao Dam.

He said that NIA assured them (farmer-beneficiaries) that even Bayongan Dam can have 50% water supply, still it can serve the target beneficiaries. But he expressed apprehension that they may be unable to pay the irrigation service fee (ISF) of 300 kilos of palay per year to NIA when insufficiency of water at Bayongan Dam occurs.

He added that NIA won't collect ISF if the harvest will not yield up to at least 40 sacks per cropping season but still they would be served by Bayongan Dam.

Bayongan has an existing 1,230 has. of rice paddies and still for leveling are 2,910 has. within its target service area.

The project has caused a controversy over the so-called cost overruns or additional costs that exceed the original total project cost. Funding of the project (BHIP stage 2) came from a loan granted by Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) to be paid for 25 years.

Former NEDA secretary and now CHED commissioner Romulo Neri told a TV program that the project (BHIP 2) cost overruns were "excessive."

He said NEDA will stand by its findings on the cost overruns estimated at P1.2 billion, including the amount of P700 million intended for the contractor's unpaid services.

Under the same NEDA ICC report, Bayongan Dam is more high-priced project compared to similar irrigation project. It said that it cost the taxpayers some P684,882 to irrigate a hectare of land. Bayongan Dam is "the most expensive irrigation project being implemented by NIA," the ICC report said.

This is higher than the P286,743 per hectare of land to be irrigated under the Lower Agusan Development Project-Irrigation Component (LADP-IC) and much higher than the P218,549 per hectare under the Tarlac Groundwater Irrigation Systems Reactivation Project (TGISRP).

LADP-IC costs P2.272 billion and has a service area of 7,922 hectares. (Ric Obedencio, Chito Visarra)