CABANATUAN CITY, Nueva Ecija–Former National Irrigation Administration chief Antonio Nangel may be a
villain and a disappointment to President Aquino but to most people in NIA, he
is a hero, hailed as the “best administrator” NIA ever had, believe it or not.
NIA sources told The STAR that Nangel
was one of the most hard-working administrators who visited various provinces
and implemented several programs and projects that changed the face of NIA and
the lives of farmers.
“President Aquino may have a different
perspective of Administrator Nangel but he must be looking elsewhere. He does
not know him personally. He just relied on some informants,” one of the source
said.
Nangel is a Novo Ecijano who worked
his way up the ladder. He first broke into prominence as operations manager of
the Upper Pampanga River Integrated Irrigation Systems, the country’s largest
national irrigation system that runs the giant Pantabangan Dam.
It was during his stint as UPRIIS when
it finally became viable in year 2000 after 24 years.
The sources made the statement after
Mr. Aquino did not renew Nangel’s appointment over the latter’s supposed
failures and questionable fund use. He said he could not understand why NIA
never met its target to irrigate new areas of farmlands when it has been
getting 100 percent of its budget allocation every year.
The source said it was during Nangel’s
watch when most NIA offices, the central office included, underwent a physical
make-over and when morale of rank-and-file employees were at their highest.
Additionally, all regional offices became viable, the first time it happened in
50 years. “They can say the worst things against him, but the people of NIA
know the truth,” the source said.
The source added that when the Chief
Executive publicly scolded Nangel last week, the former NIA chief was flooded
with expressions of support from officials and employees in various regions.
“Many of them even cried. Administrator Nangel was so loved by the people at
NIA,” she said.
Others said Nangel devoted much of his
time coordinating NIA projects with the various regional and operations
managers and barely had time with his family.
Sources said the public scolding of
Nangel last week, which precipitated his relief was “stage-managed” and was
really meant to embarrass him to justify his departure.
What hurts, they said, was that Nangel
was actually due to retire on his 65th birthday last February 14 but
was asked to stay on owing his “outstanding performance” as NIA chief.
“In the first place, why would he be
extended beyond his retirement if he was not performing well,” one of the
sources asked.
“He
was never given a graceful exit or the courtesy of allowing him to retire
quietly without any controversy,” he added. (Manny Galvez)
