(Eagle News)– President Rodrigo Duterte received praise from several lawmakers for his signing of the Free Irrigation Service Act.
Anakpawis Rep. Ariel Casilao hailed Duterte’s move as a “major step in our campaign to better farmers’ lives.”
Casilao is a member of the Makabayan bloc that proposed the bill.
In a statement, Senator Ralph Recto said Duterte’s signing of the free irrigation law should “open the floodgates to an irrigation building spree.”
“We can only coax 6 tons of rice out of a hectare of unirrigated land. With irrigation, production rises to 8.6 tons. So as water supply increases, food imports recede and hunger retreats,” Recto said.
Duterte signed the Free Service Irrigation Act last on Feb. 2, exempting farmers who own 8 hectares of land or less from paying irrigation fees, among others.