President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Tuesday led the inauguration of the Union Water Impounding Dam in Claveria, Cagayan — a P500-million project meant to irrigate farmlands and prevent flooding.

The project stands across the Cabicungan River in Barangays Union and Cadcadir and was built in 14 months.

Unlike the long list of flood control projects flagged for being substandard, incomplete, or nonexistent, the Union Dam exists, and Marcos trumpeted it as project started and finished within his term.

Marcos said the dam showed the government “can do an effective flood control project.”

The remark comes as flood control funds across the country are being questioned for padding contractors’ profits and providing lawmakers and Department of Public Works and Highways with kickbacks, while leaving communities underwater.

The dam is expected to irrigate about 1,050 hectares of farmland, benefiting more than 1,000 farmers. It includes slope protection and drainage systems to prevent river siltation, features often promised but rarely delivered in other public works.

Marcos also urged local officials to install solar panels to generate renewable energy and hinted that the site could one day become a tourist attraction.

Before leaving Cagayan, Marcos met with farmers to hear their concerns about production costs and low buying prices. He cited efforts by the Department of Agriculture and the National Food Authority (NFA) to purchase palay at higher rates than private traders — P18 to P19 per kilo for wet rice and P21 to P23 for dry rice — compared to the P8 to P13 usually offered by middlemen.

He said the government has reduced paperwork for seed distribution and pledged to deliver inputs on time for the next planting season.

The President also linked the project to food security, saying the country must lessen its dependence on imports — a promise made by every administration since the rice crisis of the early 2000s.