President Duterte Finally Signs Free Irrigation Law For Small Time Farmers
President Rodrigo Duterte has finally signed the Congress-approved Republic Act No. 10969 or free irrigation law for the farmers.
On February 02, 2018, the bill has been declared as law after it was signed by President Duterte as House Majority Leader Rodolfo Fariñas sent a copy to the journalists on Thursday (February 08, 2018).
Republic Act No. 10969 will provide free irrigation for the farmers tilling eight hectares and below. They are exempted from paying irrigation fees to the National Irrigation Authority (NIA) and irrigators’ associations (IAs).
The law will also disregard the unpaid fees, penalties, loans, surcharges, and interest owed by farmers to the NIA.
The Congress-approved bill also mandates NIA to release implementing rules and regulations.
Davao City Rep. Karlo Nograles also praised the president for making free irrigation for the farmers, which could possibly boost the agriculture in the country.
“We laud President Duterte for making free irrigation a reality for our farmers. This law will definitely jumpstart the modernization of Philippine agriculture and, more importantly, unlock endless earning opportunities for our farmers,” Nograles said quoted by Philstar.
Nograles who also chairs the House appropriations committee said that their next step is to improve the productivity by tapping new technology.
However, Nograles said that the Congress has allocated P2.6 billion as a subsidy for free irrigation this year even before Duterte approved the bill.
What can you say about this? Just feel free to leave your comments and reactions to this article.
You can also read Video Of Guy Performing Bitter ‘Orasyon’ For Valentine’s Day Goes Viral