The militant Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP) vehemently opposed the proposal of the National Water Resources Board (NWRB) to impose a fee for the use of raw water. According to Ka Willy Marbella, spokesperson of KMP, “this tax would have disastrous effects on the livelihood of farmers considering that the only source of water for our crops are the natural ones, like ground water, rivers, lakes and streams. By doing this the government will add another burden on our almost breaking backs,”

“Even if NWRB executive director Ramon Alikpala says that it would be a very minimal price like 10 centavos per 1 cubic meter or 5 drums, it would still be an expense that farmers cannot afford considering that we do not even have enough money to eat three times a day,” added the peasant leader.

“Besides the use of raw water as they call it should be free, to be used by the citizens of this land or is the government also planning to sell it to foreign corporations because they have more buying power? Another point is that the irrigation system of the government covers a very minimal area, about only 18% of the total agricultural land in our country which is about 10 million hectares when the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) was implemented. They are not even servicing the majority of farmers, now they want to tax us,” expounded Marbella.

“The government by law is even mandated to subsidize the agricultural sector, but what it is doing now is reneging on its responsibility to peasants and passing upon them its task of primarily improving the state of the sector,” ended Marbella. # # #
 

KMP - 10 March 2005