ASIDE from the bloated government workforce, the Marcos government is also seriously dealing with unfit public officials.

This is very true at the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) where negligent, unprofessional and incompetent executives are being made to answer for their mistakes.

Leading the campaign is newly-installed NIA Administrator Benny Antiporda who wants to rid the agency of ‘bad eggs’.

NIA recently filed criminal and administrative charges against two of its lawyers for alleged “gross inexcusable negligence”.

In a press briefing, Antiporda said the “negligence, unprofessionalism, and incompetence” of the lawyers caused the agency to lose a case against Green Asia Construction Development Corporation (GACDC) before the Construction Industry Arbitration Commission (CIAC).

As a result of losing the case, NIA was ordered to pay P205,958,119.

“This is the Green Asia Case, wherein NIA just lost P205 million, natalo po tayo dahil lang sa technicality (we lost due to a simple technicality),” Antiporda said.

The agency said the defeat could have been prevented if the state lawyers duly fulfilled their duties.

“Such case could have been avoided if they performed their tasks and duties with devotion, utmost diligence, and good faith. The said damage is unduly suffered by the government and, ultimately, by the taxpayers – an injustice to the Filipino people,” NIA said.

NIA said the charges were filed due to the lawyers’ alleged “gross ignorance of the law.” One of the lawyers was reportedly insistent in refusing to either take the case or testify as a witness.

Worse, the said lawyer advised the filing of a Motion for Reconsideration, which was denied for being a prohibited pleading, leading to the expiration of the period to file an appeal, NIA said.

Meanwhile, the other lawyer used the “wrong remedy “. Instead of filing a petition for review, the lawyer filed a petition for certiorari, NIA said.

“They miserably failed to perform and discharge their duties with the highest degree of excellence, professionalism, intelligence, and skill,” the agency said.

They also caused NIA to lose the right to appeal because of their sheer inefficiency, incompetence and lack of devotion and dedication to perform their duties,” it added.

The Green Asia case pertains to the long-delayed 22-kilometer project of irrigation canals and installations of steel gates from Nueva Ecija to Bulacan since 2016.

The contract was then terminated in 2020, with the CIAC ruling in favor of Green Asia last February.

Meanwhile, Antiporda said NIA seeks to strengthen Public-Private Partnership (PPP) with 50 potential irrigation projects nationwide.

Majority of these are big-ticket multipurpose projects with hydropower component with potentials on floating solar power farm and Small River Irrigation Projects (SRIPs) with reservoirs that can be utilized for floating solar power farm and/or mini-hydroelectric power plant.

At present, he said NIA already received a pledge of investment amounting to more than PHP1 trillion through Letters of Intent from different investors.

More power to the NIA chief!

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