MANILA, Philippines –  The bill seeking to provide free irrigation for small farmers is closer to becoming a law after the Senate approved it on third and final reading on Tuesday, July 25.

The House of Representatives approved their version of the proposed measure, one of President Rodrigo Duterte’s campaign promises, on third and final reading on May 29.

Both chambers of Congress would now convene a bicameral conference committee to thresh out differences between the Senate Bill 1465 and House Bill 5670 before Duterte signs the final version into law.

The proposed measure exempts small farmers from paying irrigation services for higher income and improved output. Farmers who own more than 5 hectares of land, corporate farms, and plantations are excluded from the privilege.

Senator Cynthia Villar, sponsor of the measure, said P38.4 billion is alotted in the 2017 national budget for the National Irrigation Authority. But a law is still needed so free irrigation would be permanent. (READ: P2 billion allotted for free irrigation in 2017 budget)

“Filipino farmers and fisherfolk are still among the poorest in the country and freeing farmers from the burden of paying irrigation service fees will significantly reduce production cost, hasten productivity and increase the income of farmers because farmers and fisherfolk comprise 40% of Filipinos below the poverty line,” Villar said in a statement.

SB 1465 states that all small farmers are “exempted from paying irrigation service fees for water derived from national irrigation systems and communal irrigation systems that were funded, constructed, maintained and administered by the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) and other government agencies.”

“All unpaid irrigation service fees and the corresponding penalties of small farmers to NIA and all loans, past due accounts and the corresponding interests and penalties of irrigators associations to NIA are hereby condoned and written off from the books of NIA,” the bill states.

The bill seeks to revoke the corporate status of the NIA, which would be put under the Department of Agriculture. – Rappler.com