Leonardo Q. Belen
Some 18,000 Bulacan farmers, tilling about 19,000 hectares, and represented by their local officials, have appealed to President Arroyo that the distribution of water from the Angat Dam should be drastically reversed and corrected so that their farms would be adequately irrigated.
At present, the distribution of water from Angat Dam does not include the Bulacan farms, and so, the farmers have to rely only on the rains for their farms.
The farmers lamented the fact that Manila Water Corp., in its recent announcement, made a profit of R2 billion in 2007, plus an income tax holiday of P600,000 million.
The company is one of the two concessionaires of MWSS, and the other is Maynilad Corp.
Both are distributors of water from Angat Dam to the industrial and residential users in Metro Manila.
Because of the imbalance distribution of water, the Bulacan farmers are hardly benefitting from the Angat Dam water supply. Also as a result, the farmers have already long lost the full capacity to till their farms.
They used to harvest rice at least twice a year when their farms were fully irrigated.
As a result, the farmers in Bulacan incurred yearly losses of P1.89 billion in unearned income.
During the last six decades, the Bulacan farmers were getting water plies from the Angat Dam for a minimum fee in the irrigation of their lands.
But with the two giant water concessionaires - which do not pay for the water they distribute in Metro Manila - the Bulacan farmers have been left out.
During a recent convention of the Bulacan farmers and the provincial and local officials, they agreed to petition President Arroyo that the following measures be immediately undertaken:
1. Rationalize the distribution of water supply from the Angat Dam so that the Bulacan farmers will receive adequate irrigation water;
2. Appoint to the MWSS board of directors at least five members from Bulacan to protect the interests of the 18,000 farmers;
3. Appoint to the National Water Resource Board (NWRB) and National Irrigation Administration (NIA) directors from Bulacan;
4. Give to the province of Bulacan, through a presidential decree the administration and management of the Angat Dam; and
5. President Arroyo appoints a presidential assistant to attend to the water use-conflict among the MWSS, Manila Water, Maynilad, Metro Manila, and the farmers.
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