Act No. 2755




[ Act No. 2755, February 23, 1918 ] AN ACT TO AUTHORIZE THE ESTABLISHMENT OF MUNICIPAL IRRIGATION SYSTEMS, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in Legislature assembled and by the authority of the same: Section 1. The municipal councils of municipalities organized under chapter fifty-seven of the Administrative Code are hereby authorized to construct irrigation systems within their respective territorial jurisdictions, in such form as they may determine, and subject to the approval of the Secretary of Commerce and Communications. Section 2. The owners of land irrigated by such systems shall be under obligation to pay to the municipal government concerned the sum of two pesos per annum per hectare of land irrigated, which shall constitute a lien on the land benefited.ℒαwρhi৷ This lien shall have precedence over any other, except the lien for taxes on the land, and shall continue until all annual payments have been made. Section 3. Any municipality which, in the opinion of the Secretary of the Interior, has sufficient funds available for the establishment of irrigation systems as provided by this Act, may apply for the necessary authority under section one hereof, and in case such authority is granted, it shall be entitled to a share in the funds appropriated in this Act not exceeding double the amount of the appropriation made by such municipality, in the discretion of the Secretary of Commerce and Communications. Section 4. In case a controversy shall arise between two or more municipalities regarding the priority in the use of the water, such controversy shall be decided by the Secretary of Commerce and Communications. Section 5. The irrigation systems constructed in accordance with the provisions of this Act shall be the property of the municipalities by which they were constructed, and the revenues derived from said systems shall constitute a special fund which shall be expended only for the maintenance, improvement or extension of the same. Section 6. The Secretary of Commerce and Communications is hereby authorized to make available for the purposes of this Act any funds appropriated by the Legislature for the construction of irrigation systems, not to exceed one hundred thousand pesos in any year. Section 7. This Act shall take effect on its approval. Approved, February 23, 1918. The Lawphil Project - Arellano Law Foundation