PIDS urges repurposing irrigation water to expand access

By Francis Allan L. Angelo

The Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS) has called on the government to urgently repurpose over 1.3 million liters per second (lps) of idle irrigation water to expand household and municipal water access, amid rising demand and worsening scarcity in the country.

Presented at a policy forum on June 26 and published as Policy Notes 2025-01, the study titled “Repurposing Rights to Expand Public Access to Water: The Case of the National Irrigation Administration” revealed that much of the water allocated to farmlands by the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) remains unused due to land conversion and fragmented governance.

“Many sites that were once agricultural lands have since been converted to communities,” said PIDS Research Analyst Amerah Azis, co-author of the study. “This gives way for a significant opportunity to expand access for various stakeholders to invest in water development.”

The 1976 Water Code allows the revocation of irrigation permits after land use changes. However, agencies have instead opted for Memoranda of Agreements (MOAs) that permit NIA to retain its water rights while allowing multipurpose use, such as for domestic, hydropower, aquaculture, tourism, and industrial applications.

One such MOA—signed on October 4, 2023, by NIA, the National Water Resources Board (NWRB), and the DENR’s Water Resources Management Office—has laid the legal groundwork for repurposing.

Despite this policy shift, the study found that no formal mechanisms currently exist to reallocate unused water for alternative purposes.

“Decades of idleness and disuse have left many facilities needing rehabilitation, estimated to cost up to PHP 70 billion,” said Dr. Roehl Briones, PIDS Senior Research Fellow and lead author of the study.

The water sector suffers from severe institutional fragmentation, with 21 agencies handling 14 overlapping functions. This lack of coordination has led to regulatory inefficiencies, inconsistent planning, and stalled investment in infrastructure.

As of 2022, 52 percent of the Philippine population lacked safely managed drinking water, while 37 percent lacked access to proper sanitation, according to WHO and UNICEF data cited by the study.

In Cavite, a pilot public-private initiative has been launched, where the provincial government signed an agreement with NIA to repurpose 13 dams. Maynilad Water has begun sourcing water from four NIA dams. However, the initiative remains stalled due to NIA’s failure to specify the volume of water available beyond irrigation needs.

“These dams, many dating back to the Spanish era, are heavily silted, clogged, and surrounded by informal settlers,” the Cavite provincial Bids and Awards Committee reported, estimating rehabilitation costs at PHP 70 billion—well beyond the PHP 15 billion agency threshold, requiring NEDA Board approval.

Under the 2023 Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Code, the government hopes to mobilize private investment for such rehabilitation projects. The PPP Center has also approved funding from the Project Development and Monitoring Facility (PDMF) to conduct a feasibility study in Cavite.

“Bulk water supply is the most feasible mechanism to attract private investment,” said Briones. However, financial viability remains a hurdle, with a World Bank survey showing that 68 percent of LGU-run utilities operate at a loss due to low tariffs and high operating costs.

PIDS recommends several reforms, including a nationally regulated tariff-setting system, blended financing for infrastructure, and a hydrologic assessment to determine available water volumes for municipal use without compromising irrigation.

The proposed Department of Water Resources—currently under legislative review—would serve as an apex body to unify governance, streamline regulation, and centralize data across the sector.

“The ultimate goal is for NIA to become one of the leading government corporations in promoting renewable energy, while managing its real property assets to support national climate goals,” said NIA Corporate Lawyer Mary Annabelle Cruz-Domingo.

With more than 100 public and private stakeholders already expressing interest in repurposing NIA water, the study emphasizes that without institutional reform and clearer investment frameworks, water access in the Philippines will remain inequitable and inefficient.