LIGAO CITY ---A thorough investigation is being sought before the Office of the Ombudsman on the allegedly anomalous construction of a P22 million irrigation canal here

City Councilor Peter S. Vega, chairman of the Sanggunian committee on laws during their regular session last Monday said that he was seeking a probe after the canal project collapsed a couple of months ago.

        He also said that he is looking into reports about the alleged attempt to bribe the late City Councilor Gregorio Peninoy in exchange for formal acceptance of the project as fully completed.

        Former city councilor Peninoy, president of Ligao-Oas farmers organization, died in a road accident early this month. Before his death he was reported to have declined to accept the project as completed due to alleged irregularities that attended the implementation of project.

        City Vice Mayor Alfonso Saret, 65, personally visited the project in Barangay Tastas, this city, and saw the collapsed portions of the canal lining which did not show any steel bars that should have supported the concrete structures of the canal as a standard construction procedure.

        Saret told Bicol Mail that the project was constructed by a certain Bong Sampal of Polangui, Albay.

Caption: The substandard canal whose linings collapsed.

        “The purpose of this project was defeated and affected at least 50 hectares of farmland which did not benefit from the projects which should have irrigated the local farmers’ farms,” Saret said.

        The lined canal collapsed following continuous heavy rains and heavy flooding during the months of February to March this year.

Rubber dam
        The canal project was supposed to connect the of P86 million worth inflatable rubber dam earlier installed in Ligao to irrigate farmlands in Barangays Tastas, Cabasi, Bubunsuran and Ranaw-Ranaw while at the same time protect them from floods.

        The rubber dam built in Bgy. Tastas, Ligao City uses Japanese technology and is designed to automatically deflate in times of heavy flood and inflate when the flooding subsides.

        The dam was built by NIA regional office two years ago under the auspices of the Agrarian Reform Infrastructure Support Project (ARISP) of the Department of Agrarian Reform.

        The construction of the dam was primarily aimed to irrigate farms and optimize rice production. Unfortunately the project went below expectation which prompted farmers to resort to vegetable farming rather than palay farming.

        Albay Gov. Joey S. Salceda when asked about the allegedly substandard canal project said that the structure partly collapsed because of the heavy rains and flooding. He said it was scheduled for repair under the original budget but the work was hampered by hostile weather.

        “The lined canal collapsed due to heavy rain which was 12 times over the normal rainfall,” the governor explained.

        On the other hand, Salceda claimed the rubber dam in Cabilogan (Ligao) funded by JBIC ARISP and procured by NIA central office but supervised by NIA Region 5 helped boost palay production in Albay’s third district. He added that as a matter of fact the project enabled Oas town to produce the biggest rive surplus in the province.

        The governor explained the high palay production in Oas town may be attributed to the two rubber dams put up in the barangays of South Quinale and Cabilogan amounting to P250 million came from his pork barrel fund when he was the representative of the 3rd district for three terms.

        Salceda said that Oas town is considered as the “rice granary” of the province with 24,000 hectares of rice lands and an annual rice production rate of 75,000 bags. The other rice producing towns in the province are Libon, Ligao City and Polangui, all in the third congressional district of Albay.

        Earlier, President Arroyo directed the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) to release the amount of P50 million for the construction of irrigation facilities in Oas.