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No. 2019-07 (June 2019)ISSN 2508-0865 (electronic)
Roger A. Luyun Jr. and Dulce D. Elazegui
Issues on communal irrigation
systems in the Philippines
Despite massive efforts and funding to support
irrigation development, the increase in irrigated
areas has been minimal in the Philippines (Luyun
2015; Inocencio et al. 2016). This is particularly true
in Mindanao, where the development of irrigation
systems lags relative to Luzon and Visayas (NIA
2017). To expand the irrigation base, new irrigable
areas may be served by small-scale systems, such as
the communal irrigation systems (CIS) (David 2003).
This Policy Note presents an assessment of select
CIS in the Philippines. It specifically assessed 90
CIS from 11 provinces in Luzon (Bulacan-Aurora-
Nueva Ecija, Pangasinan, Ilocos Norte, Pampanga-
Bataan, Camarines Sur, Benguet, Nueva Vizcaya,
Isabela, Cagayan-Batanes, Laguna, and Occidental
Mindoro), four provinces in Visayas (Leyte, Iloilo,
Capiz, and Bohol), and four provinces in Mindanao
(North Cotabato, South Cotabato, Davao del Sur,
and Bukidnon). Primary and secondary data were
also collected through key informant interviews and
focus group discussions among various irrigation
management offices (IMOs).
Policy milestone for CIS
In 2018, President Duterte signed into law the Free
Irrigation Service Act (FISA), providing a new policy
milieu for CIS beneficiaries and managers. Under
FISA, all farmers with landholdings of eight hectares
and below are exempt from paying irrigation service
fees. An amount of PHP 2 billion was provided in
the budget of the National Irrigation Administration
(NIA) as irrigation fee subsidy. Nonethless, this
budget did not cover the operation and maintenance
subsidy for CIS.
In line with NIA Memorandum Circular No. 13,
series of 2017, NIA stopped collecting amortization
and equity payments from farmers and irrigators’
associations (IAs) for projects on CIS. However, all
unpaid fees remain as liabilities of farmers and their
association. With the new policy platform for CIS,
providers of assistance, financial and otherwise,
must address existing technical and institutional
concerns not adequately addressed before. Moreover,
there are emerging issues that call for action
by decisionmakers.
2 w Issues of communal irrigation systems in the Philippines
Features of CIS
CIS operates through either gravity system, one in
which water flows by gravity, or pump system, where
water moves by mechanical action. Majority of the
sampled CIS had gravity systems. In some provinces,
such as Cagayan, Isabela, and Camarines Norte,
however, there were more pump systems than gravity
systems. There were also no pump irrigation systems
in all the select provinces in Mindanao despite the
fact that it has vast shallow aquifer systems. In terms
of size, over 40 percent of the CIS in the 11 sample
IMOs in Luzon and four sample IMOs in Visayas
were small. With the presence of plantation farms in
Mindanao, roughly 9 in every 10 CIS listed in the four
sample IMOs had medium to large firmed-up service
areas (FUSA). A summary of the profiles of the select
CIS in terms of size of FUSA, type of technology, and
operational status, is shown in Table 1.
Yields in CIS were lower by 30–40 percent than in the
national irrigation systems because of the uncertainty
in water supply in the small catchment areas where
CIS is located (FAO 2011). Unreliable water supply
is a major problem for majority of the CIS tapping
water from less dependable small rivers and creeks
or relying on springs and runoff. Only 29 of the 90
surveyed CIS (32%) had river sources capable of
providing irrigation during dry seasons. Except for
some large rivers, there were no historical records of
the discharges of the river and creek sources for CIS
to form as basis for sensible engineering designs.
Historical flow records or at least synthetically
generated flow data should be included in the
feasibility analyses.
Many CIS were found to have service areas with slope
greater than 3 percent. As such, there is a need
to reevaluate the definition of potential irrigable
areas for new irrigation development areas. It is
recommended that all areas within 8-percent slope,
after subtracting the built-up and other protected
areas, should be considered as potential irrigable
area for CIS. Equally important criteria should be the
assessment of water supply sources, suitability of the
soil to different crops, and comprehensive land use
plans of the local government units (LGUs).
Lack of water supply was compounded by
environmental problems, such as denuded watershed
cover due to logging and kaingin, land use
Table 1. Frequency distribution of communal irrigation systems by size of firmed up service area,
technology type, and operational status
Notes: a,b - not classied
Source: Authors’ compilation based on the records of sampled irrigation management ofces of the National Irrigation Administration
CIS
Firmed up service area (in hectares) Technology Operational status
Small
<50
Medium
50–100
Large
>100 Gravity Pump Othera≤50%
operational
> 50%
operational Otherb
Luzon (n = 1,606)
Number 660 411 535 1,279 286 41 76 1,202 328
Percent 41.1 25.6 33.3 79.6 17.8 2.6 4.7 74.8 20.4
Visayas (n = 464)
Number 216 148 100 401 58 5 54 364 46
Percent 46.6 31.9 21.6 86.4 12.5 1.1 11.6 78.4 9.9
Mindanao (n =176)
Number 26 64 86 176 0 0 20 154 2
Percent 14.8 36.4 48.9 100 0 0 11.4 87.5 1.1
PIDS Policy Notes 2019-07 w 3
conversion, and quarrying. The CIS design manual
specifically stated that there should be no river
quarrying within one-kilometer upstream and one-
kilometer downstream of the proposed diversion
dam. In some cases, the storage capacity of the dam
has already been reduced due to sedimentation. As
such, sediment discharge estimation should be a
prerequisite in feasibility studies and the provision of
silt control devices should be included in the design
for sediment-laden rivers.
There were several technical problems that confront
IAs and the performance of their CIS. Most run-of-
the-river type dams were old, some with exposed
rock cores and steel supports, damaged spillways
or sluiceways, and some with sediments almost at
the crest level. Damaged sluice and intake gates
were usually replaced with wooden flashboards or
sandbags. Meanwhile, defective lifting mechanisms
were either left open or fitted with chain blocks.
Control structures included simple cross regulators,
check gates, drop structures, division boxes, and farm
turnouts, most of which used wooden flashboards
for water level control. No flow measurements were
conducted. Most service roads were in bad conditions
with some dams accessible only by walking or
by motorcycles. Rehabilitation works have been
performed through NIA’s technical assistance and
mostly needed to correct damaged dams, headworks,
canals, and sedimentation.
Groundwater usage
The Philippines has about five million hectares
of shallow aquifers, whose groundwater is usually
tapped for irrigation using shallow tube wells
(STWs). While using STW may incur additional fuel
costs, groundwater is a reliable source even during
intense El Niño episodes. Farmers also have control of
irrigation schedules and flows, enabling some of them
to increase cropping intensity or diversify into other
Despite massive efforts and funding to support irrigation development, the increase in irrigated areas has been minimal in the
Philippines. This is particularly true in Mindanao, where the development of irrigation systems lags relative to Luzon and Visayas.
Photo: Roger Luyun
4 w Issues of communal irrigation systems in the Philippines
crops. The use of surface water and groundwater, also
referred to as atomistic irrigation, has been found
to have a much larger impact on poverty reduction
in Southeast Asia than any irrigation government
programs (Facon and Mukherji 2010).
In most of the CIS visited, farmers resorted to
conjunctive use of STWs with their CIS especially
during long dry periods. Some NIA IMOs had already
installed standby STWs for periods of prolonged
droughts. The practice of supplementing irrigation
from surface sources with groundwater from STWs
should be encouraged, especially in areas underlain
by good shallow aquifers. It is also useful in areas
where surface water sources have very low dependable
discharges during the dry season.
Water delivery
While more IAs believed that they received the
required volume of water at the right time, there were
still frequent delays and inequitable flow distribution,
which showed a need for improvement in the water
management of all the CIS. The associations rated
themselves high in terms of water distribution, and
the maintenance of canals and control structures.
In general, the good conditions of the lined and
unlined canal networks were due to the associations
themselves having good operation and maintenance,
as well as clean-up mechanisms.
As in most irrigation systems, there were no
specific drainage canals at CIS, leading to flooding
problems in some systems during the rainy season.
Water distribution was usually from paddy to
paddy, with few farm ditches contributing to large
application losses. Drainage should also be taken into
consideration in the design criteria to avoid gross
underestimation of on-farm water losses, which in
turn result in the overestimation of design
service areas.
In the construction or rehabilitation of CIS, the water
source should be assessed in terms of dependable
flow, catchment conditions, and sediment discharges.
On the problem of water supply sources, there should
be a concerted effort on the part of concerned
government agencies and even the academe to
identify potential sites for diversion dams and storage
reservoirs. The shelved proposal for the institution
of the National Water Resources Management Office
under the Office of the President should be revived
and reformulated. Related to this, water resources
centers in select state colleges and universities
should be instituted and tasked to continuously
gather, analyze, and manage water resources data and
build a hydrologic database.
Operation and maintenance
Generally, dams and control structures should be
properly maintained and repaired to ensure proper
water control and distribution. The dam storage area
should be regularly cleared of sediments to increase
storage capacity and thus extend irrigation even with
diminished river flows. This should be part of regular
operation and maintenance activities of the IAs. If
heavy equipment is necessary, NIA should provide
assistance to IAs.
Investments in CIS usually do not take into account
the recurrent costs associated with operation and
maintenance activities, considered a responsibility
of the recipient of the system. Lack of funds delays
routine maintenance, and cumulative neglect and
design mistakes result in the need for more costly
rehabilitation. Therefore, it is but logical to focus on
the improvement of planning and budgeting of the
operation and maintenance activities.
Rehabilitation works have been performed through NIA’s
technical assistance, mostly to correct damaged dams
and headworks and for lining of canals and dredging
PIDS Policy Notes 2019-07 w 5
of sediments. With the recent availability of low-cost
high density polyethylene pipes, the feasibility of
using these materials for subsurface conveyance of
irrigation to the fields should be carefully considered.
The high initial cost may be counterbalanced by several
factors, including less operation and management cost;
increased planting areas given that the pipe is buried
underground; less costs for right-of-way acquisitions;
less seepage and percolation losses; easier control of
water flow and command, easily adaptable to sprinkler
systems; and crop diversification.
Irrigators’ associations
NIA assesses the functionality of IAs based on five
criteria, namely, operation and management (35%),
financial standing (26%), discipline (29%), agri-
support services (6%), and special features (4%).
Functionality survey serves as basis for giving awards
to these associations and helps NIA in identifying
appropriate strategies to enhance their capabilities.
Around 75 percent of the IAs in the 11 sample
IMOs in Luzon and 4 sample IMOs in Visayas had
satisfactory to very satisfactory ratings. Around
20 percent had fair to poor rating, and less than
5 percent were outstanding in both regions. In
Mindanao, around 16 percent of IAs in the four
sample IMOs were outstanding while around 68
percent were satisfactory to very satisfactory, and
over 14 percent had fair to poor rating.
FISA maintains the significant role of NIA in providing
technical support to associations and in building their
capacity to sustain their functionality. Thus, linkage
between NIA and IAs should be sustained.
Institutional development program of NIA for IAs
relies heavily on the role of institutional development
officers. Despite their heavy workload, however, these
officers are not getting adequate incentives, such as
security of tenure and other benefits. Most often, they
are hired on job order basis with wages drawn from CIS
project budget. Regular funds should be allotted to this
very important link between NIA and the associations.
CIS development remains dependent on government
assistance. CIS projects were often in response to
requests submitted by IAs, farmer organizations, and
LGUs to NIA, which, in turn, taps sources for funding.
There was no distinct pattern based on size of FUSA on
the performance of CIS and functionality of IAs. Crucial
is the capacity of each association to harness its
organizational capacity to build human, financial, and
social capital, thus, the need for continuous capacity
building. For instance, concerns on sustainability
of CIS due to environmental problems may require
enhancement of the association’s capacity to establish
linkages in watershed management programs. Their
awareness and institutional networking are likewise
crucial in enhancing CIS programs.
Implications of free irrigation service fee
Before the implementation of FISA, many IAs in
the sampled IMOs were amortizing—39 percent in
Luzon, 70 percent in Visayas, and 75 percent in
Mindanao. Others already paid the 30–percent equity,
and amortization payment is supposed to follow.
The passage of FISA relieves the IAs from paying the
cost of their CIS. Most of the sampled associations in
Visayas and Mindanao stopped paying amortization
but continued to collect fees from their members for
the operation and management of their CIS. They now
refer to this collection as irrigation management fee,
ranging from PHP 700 to PHP 1,500 per hectare. There
were some members, however, who were reluctant to
pay any fee citing the implementation of FISA.
The associations appreciated the implementation of
FISA because their loans were condoned, giving them
6 w Issues of communal irrigation systems in the Philippines
opportunity to reallocate funding to operation and
management. However, about 50 percent of the IAs
were worried that the they may have less funds for
operation and management given that they can no
longer collect from farmer-members.
FISA declared that operation and management
cost shall be provided by the national government.
Therefore, there should be clear guidelines or provisions
on this. For example, in the case of national irrigation
systems, an association gets a compensation of
PHP 1,750 per month for maintenance activities,
based on canal section for a maximum of six months
in a year. For operations-related responsibilities, the
association will be paid PHP 150 per hectare per
cropping of irrigated and planted areas.
Meanwhile, the government needs to address the
collection of back accounts, amortization, and equity
payments from IAs. Ownership of CIS should also be
clarified. Before FISA, certificate of CIS ownership
was issued to an association when it has fully paid
the chargeable cost incurred in the construction of
the project. This implies that the CIS project was
fully turned over to IAs. With FISA, the operation
and management of CIS shall be handed over to their
respective associations, referred to in the past as
physical turnover. In the case of new projects, another
concern is to whom should the water permit be issued.
Devolution of CIS to LGU was rarely implemented
because of the apparent lack of interest of LGUs,
low priority for irrigation, or lack of capacity to
operate and manage CIS. With FISA, the provision
that the equity requirement for CIS projects with LGU
participation will be maintained with the concerned
LGU may further dampen the interest of LGUs in
engaging in CIS development.4
References:
David, W.P. 2003. Averting the water crises in agriculture:
Policy and program framework for irrigation
development in the Philippines. Quezon City,
Philippines: University of the Philippines Press and
Asia Pacific Policy Center.
Facon, T. and A. Mukherji. 2010. Small-scale irrigation: Is
this the future? Paper presented at the Water Crisis
and Choices, Asian Development Bank and Partners
Conference, October 11-15, Asian Development Bank
Headquarters, Mandaluyong City, Philippines.
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
(FAO). 2011. Irrigation in Southern and Eastern Asia in
figures – AQUASTAT Survey – 2011. Rome, Italy: FAO.
http://www.fao.org/nr/water/aquastat/countries_
regions/PHL/PHL-CP_ eng.pdf (accessed on October
4, 2018).
Inocencio, A.B., C. Ureta, A. Baulita, A. Baulita, R.S. Clemente,
R.A. Luyun, Jr., and D.D. Elazegui. 2016. Technical
and Institutional Evaluation of Selected National and
Communal Irrigation Systems and Characterization of
Irrigation Sector Governance Structure. PIDS Discussion
Paper Series 2016-12. Quezon City, Philippines: Philippine
Institute for Development Studies. https://pidswebs.pids.
gov.ph/CDN/PUBLICATIONS/pidsdps1612.pdf (accessed on
December 6, 2018).
Luyun, R.A.Jr. 2015. Technical assessment of communal
irrigation systems in Luzon. PIDS Policy Note 2015-
27. Quezon City, Philippines: Philippine Institute for
Development Studies.
National Irrigation Administration (NIA). 2017. Annual
Report. Quezon City, Philippines: NIA.
Address: Research Information Department
Philippine Institute for Development Studies
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Telephone: (+63-2) 372-1291 to 92
Email: publications@mail.pids.gov.ph
Website: www.pids.gov.ph
PIDS Policy Notes
are analyses written by PIDS researchers on certain
policy issues. The treatise is holistic in approach and aims to provide
useful inputs for decisionmaking.
The authors are consultants at PIDS. The views expressed are those
of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the PIDS or any
of the study’s sponsors.
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