AN ACT TO AMEND SECTIONS TWENTY-FIVE, TWENTY-NINE, THIRTY, AND THIRTY-TWO OF ACT NUMBERED TWENTY-ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY-TWO AS AMENDED BY ACTS NUMBERED THIRTY-TWO HUNDRED AND EIGHT, THIRTY-FIVE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-THREE, AND FORTY HUNDRED AND NINE, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES.

• Sections: 6

Section 1

SECTION 1. Section twenty-five of Act Numbered Twenty-one hundred and fifty-two, as amended by Acts Numbered Thirty-two hundred and eight and Thirty-five hundred and twenty-three, is hereby further amended to read as follows:

"SEC. 25. Upon determination by the Secretary of Public Works and Communications that the Government construction of any irrigation project is advisable, he shall, in the manner prescribed in section fifteen hereof, give public notice of:

"(a) The land irrigable under such project.

"(b) The total annual charge per hectare which shall consist of the following items: First, the estimated cost of operation and maintenance; and second, the insurance charge provided for in section thirty-one hereof: Provided, however, That the total annual charge above provided shall not exceed six pesos per hectare.

"(c) A statement that protests against the construction of the project may be filed with the Governor-General within ninety days after completion of publication.

"At the beginning of the publication of the notice a map shall be filed in the office of the municipal secretary of each municipality interested, showing the land to be affected by the irrigation project, which map shall be open to inspection by the public.

"The Secretary of Public Works and Communications shall publish or cause to be published in English, and, whenever he deems advisable, in Spanish and in the local dialect, in the Official Gazette, the notice provided for in this section, which notice shall be published once a week for four consecutive weeks. Such notice in English, Spanish, and the local dialect shall also be posted at the usual places for posting public notices in each municipality and place affected by said project and shall also be published once a week for four consecutive weeks by bandillos or public criers."

Section 2

SEC. 2. Section twenty-nine of Act Numbered Twenty-one hundred and fifty-two, as amended by Act Numbered Thirty-five hundred and twenty-three, is hereby further amended to read as follows:

"SEC. 29. Upon the completion of the construction of any project, or sufficient part thereof, by the Government, the Secretary of Public Works and Communications shall issue a second public notice, which shall be posted and published in the same manner as provided in section fifteen hereof.

"This notice shall announce:

"(a) The land irrigable under such project, or part thereof;

"(b) The total annual charge per hectare which shall consist of the following items: First, the estimated cost of operation and maintenance; and second, the insurance charge provided for in section thirty-one hereof: Provided, however, That the total annual charge above provided shall not exceed six pesos per hectare.

"(c) The payment of the annual charge corresponding to any year shall be made not later than August thirty-first of the succeeding year: Provided, however, That no charge shall be collected from the landowners benefited during the first year of operation; that the cost of operation and maintenance alone shall be collected during the second year of operation; and that the collection of the total annual charge shall begin during the third year of operation.

"(d) The date on which the official test of the system is to be made in the presence of the persons interested for their satisfaction.

"(e) Failure to pay the annual charge within the period prescribed by paragraph (c) shall subject the landowners to a penalty of ten per centum of the original charge due if paid not later than December thirty-first of every year, the penalty to be increased to twenty per centum thereafter.

"If the annual charge and penalties above provided shall remain unpaid on the dates specified in paragraphs (c) and (e), the same shall become a lien against the delinquent land and the crops raised thereon, which lien shall have preference and be collectible, as prescribed in section thirteen hereof."

Section 3

SEC. 3. Section thirty of Act Numbered Twenty-one hundred and fifty-two, as amended by Act Numbered Thirty-five hundred and twenty-three and Act Numbered Forty hundred and nine, is hereby further amended to read as follows:

"SEC. 30. Whenever by reason of shortage of water or other fortuitous event, a failure or shortage of crops shall occur on lands included in any irrigation system, or any portion of said system, and whenever any land included as irrigable is found to be not benefited by irrigation and duly certified as such by the committee created in this section, the Secretary of Public Works and Communications may, at his discretion, waive the total annual charge provided for in section twenty-nine hereof: Provided, however, That the Governor-General may, in his discretion increase or decrease the irrigable area of any irrigation system constructed by the Government, by excluding lands already included or including lands outside the original boundary of the project.

"There is hereby created for every irrigation system operated by the Government under the provisions of this Act a local irrigation committee which shall be composed of the superintendent of the system or his representative, one landowner elected by the association of landowners included within the system, and one member appointed by the Secretary of Public Works and Communications. The members of the committee shall receive per diems of five pesos each while attending meetings of the committee: Provided, That officers already receiving a salary or per diem from the Government shall serve without additional remuneration. It shall be the duty of the committee to inspect lots which are claimed by their respective owners to be not benefited by the irrigation system and certify their findings to the Secretary of Public Works and Communications."

Section 4

SEC. 4. Section thirty-two of Act Numbered Twenty-one hundred and fifty-two is hereby amended to read as follows:

"SEC. 32. The irrigation works constructed by the Government under the provisions of the foregoing sections shall be administered by the Government in conformity with the provisions of this Act for the benefit of the landowners."

Section 5

SEC. 5. The provisions of this Act shall be made applicable to the irrigation systems heretofore completed and to systems that may hereafter be constructed under the provisions of Act Numbered Twenty-one hundred and fifty-two, as amended, any Act or provision of law to the contrary notwithstanding: Provided, however, That the annual charge provided in section two hereof which shall not exceed six pesos per hectare shall become effective for the irrigation charges due for the year nineteen hundred and thirty-four, and no refund shall be made of charges already paid: And provided, further, That all cases pending in the courts for the collection of charges on those lands upon which default has been made, under the provisions of section thirteen of Act Numbered Twenty-one hundred and fifty-two, as amended, shall be suspended and the owners of those lands shall be given a period of one hundred and eighty days from the date of the approval of this Act within which to pay their unpaid irrigation charges, without penalty, as provided in section twenty-nine of Act Numbered Twenty-one hundred and fifty-two, as amended. The owners of lands certified by the committee created in section three of this Act to be not benefited by the irrigation system shall be relieved of the obligation to pay the charges and the action in court against them shall be discontinued.

Section 6

SEC. 6. This Act shall take effect upon its approval.

Approved, December 7, 1934.