The militant Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas expressed full support to House Bill 558 or the Free Irrigation Services Act filed by Anakpawis party-list, as well as other measures in Congress pushing for free irrigation services to farmers.
“Irrigation is necessary and vital to agricultural production and overall rural development. To genuinely uplift the state of farmers, the State should provide necessary support and services, including free irrigation,” said KMP Chairperson Joseph Canlas.
“We are also raising our urgent demand to the Duterte administration to implement a moratorium on the collection of irrigation service fees especially areas affected by calamities, pending the legislation of a free irrigation measure,” Canlas said.
Successive typhoons “Karen” and “Lawin” have severely devastated farmlands in Central Luzon, Northern Luzon and Ilocos-Cordillera regions, he noted.
The National Irrigation Administration’s Memorandum Circular No. 46 reiterated the collection of ISF, the militant leader said.
Majority of ricelands are still rain-fed, and farmers still rely on rainwater for irrigation. In areas with National Irrigation Systems and Communal Irrigation Systems, farmers endure inefficient irrigation services and high ISF.
In Bicol region, the National Irrigation Administration only serves 4,000 hectares out of 313,602 hectares of rice-lands. The remaining 98.7 percent of farmers there rely on their own irrigation and maintenance of irrigation canals, KMP said.
ISFs collected by NIA in the region range from P1,300 to more than P6,000 per hectare per cropping. Farmers and irrigators associations are also paying penalties, interests and amortizations even in anomalous irrigation projects, the group said.
In Nueva Ecija, farmers are strongly supporting the measure for free irrigation services, especially in areas serviced by the Upper Pampanga Integrated Irrigation System (UPRIIS) and Pantoc Communal Irrigation System, KMP said.
“Year in and year out, farmers complain about unserviceable, unmaintained and unrehabilitated irrigation systems, which are both funded by public funds and ISF collection from farmers,” Canlas added.
The KMP and the Pambansang Ugnayan para sa Libreng Patubig at Irigasyon (PATUBIG), an alliance of farmers and irrigators associations, are calling on Congress to immediately pass the free irrigation bills.
The peasant groups are demanding the following: Free irrigation nationwide especially in NIS covered by NIA; subsidized irrigation in CIS; affordable and reasonably priced ISF in private irrigation systems; condonation of back accounts in unpaid irrigation fees, including interests and penalties; and rehabilitation of irrigation facilities.