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

  "SEC. 2. The power to grant  appropriations  of  public waters  is hereby vested ft the Secretary of Commerce and Communications, in  accordance with the provisions of this law  upon the recommendation and approval of the Irrigation  Council herein created.

"There is  hereby  created an  Irrigation Council  which shall consist of five  members as follows: The Secretary of Commerce and Communications who  shall be ex-officio chairman thereof;  the Secretary of  Agriculture  and Natural Resources; the  chairman of the  Committee on  Commerce and  Communications  of  the Senate; the chairman of the Committee on  Public Works of the  House of Representatives; and one agriculturist who  shall be appointed by the Governor-General and  shall receive  a per  diem  of fifteen pesos for  each session of   the council which  he actually attends: Provided, That the officers already receiving a salary  or per diem from the Government shall serve without additional remuneration.

"The Chief  Water Rights  Inspector  of the Bureau  of Public Works shall be ex-officio secretary of the Irrigation Council without additional compensation.

"The Director of  Public  Works shall have  direction and supervision of  the  investigation  for and  construction  of irrigation  systems by the   Government of the  Philippine Islands and  shall perform  such  duties as are  prescribed herein.

"The Chief Irrigation  Engineer shall, in addition to the duties  and responsibilities   stated in  his  appointment,  be charged with those  of the  superintendent of irrigation as provided  in  Act  Numbered Eighteen hundred and  fifty- four."

SEC.  2. Section four of Act Numbered Twenty-one  hundred and fifty-two is hereby amended to read as follows:

  "SEC. 4. Any controversy between the persons  claiming right to the use of water of any stream shall be submitted to the Secretary of Commerce and Communications through the Director of Public Works, and his decision thereon  shall be final unless appeal therefrom be taken to the proper court within thirty days after the date of the notification of the parties of said decision.  In  case of such appeal the court having jurisdiction shall try the controversy de novo: Provided, however, That the Secretary of Commerce and Communications is hereby vested  with authority, by virtue  of his decision, upon bond in a sum to be fixed by the Secretary of Commerce and Communications being furnished by the party concerned, to order the  removal or alteration  of the dam, the filling in or opening of canals or ditches, the construction  of gates, the installation  of gauges or such other measures as may be necessary in order that the interested parties may enjoy the rights to the use of water as determined by him.  The Director of Public Works  or his authorized  agents, after the decision has become final, are hereby authorized to execute the order of the Secretary of Commerce and Communications, and if the  party concerned refuses to comply with the same,  said Director  of Public Works or  his authorized agent may direct the order to be executed at the expense  of the party concerned, without prejudice to such party being held criminally liable in accordance with  the provisions of Act  Numbered Twenty- one hundred and fifty-two."

SEC. 3. Section thirteen of Act Numbered Twenty-one hundred and fifty-two, as amended by section five  of Act Numbered Twenty-six hundred  and  fifty-two,  is  hereby further amended to read as follows:

"SEC. 13. In the event of the appropriators not organizing in accordance with the provisions of the next preceding section, or during the time  in which the rights of using the public waters which have been appropriated are being determined and adjudicated, the system  shall be temporarily administered under this Act as follows:

"(a)  By the municipal  council, when the system affects one municipality alone.

" (b)  By the provincial board, when it affects two or more municipalities of a province.

"(c)  By the Director of Public Works, when it affects two or more provinces.

"The regulations issued for the administration, use, and distribution of waters shall be previously approved by the Irrigation Council, and in the preparation of those  regulations all the persons interested shall be given a  hearing.

"The cost  of this service shall be a. lien upon the crops, in the first place, and in  the second place, upon the land of the water users  and ditch owners,  in accordance with the distribution  thereof,  as shown by  the accounts of the municipal council, the provincial board, or the Director of Public Works, which distribution shall be based upon the irrigable area held by each appropriator or ditch owner, in proportion to the total area served by the system: Provided, hoivever,  That the funds necessary to defray the administration  expenses prior to the expiration of each agricultural year (the period intervening between the beginning of the planting and the completion of the harvesting of the crops), in accordance with the appropriation, shall be advanced by the municipality or the province out of its funds, or by the Director of Public Works, out  of the funds appropriated for the administration expenses of old  irrigation systems, and shall be reimbursed by the appropriator or ditch owner at the end of each year with interest at the rate of six per centum: Provided, further, That in the event of the municipalities or provincial boards being without funds to cover these expenses the administration of  such system shall be given to the Director of Public Works for such time as the funds advanced to meet said expenses are paid from the Insular Treasury.

"The municipal and provincial  treasurers  shall,  in the performance of their official duties, collect the charges for administration  expenses for each year upon the completion of each harvest, acting in this respect as delegates of the Director  of Public Works.   Such lien shall have preference over all other liens except that for taxes on the land and any mortgage lien in favor of the Philippine Agricultural Bank, or its successor, and such preferred lien shall not be removed  until all charges are paid or the property  is sold for payment thereof.  Within one year after default of payment  on  an installment payable on any parcel of land, the municipal president,  the  provincial  governor,  or the Director of Public Works shall file with the clerk of the Court of First Instance of the district in which the land is situated, a list  of all lands upon which default has been made.  The clerk  of the court shall thereupon  publish in the manner provided  for the publication  of the  summons in  a  civil action, a list of the lands so filed by  the Director of Public Works, accompanied by a notice requiring the owners to file an answer thereto within thirty days  after the completion of the publication.

"Upon the filing of an answer by the person interested, the action in respect to such person  shall proceed to judgment, as provided for other actions by the Code of  Civil Procedure.  Upon termination of such thirty days judgment shall be entered against such persons as have not answered, and their lands, or the portion thereof  deemed necessary, shall be sold, after ten days' public notice, at public auction by the sheriff to satisfy such preferred lien.

"Any excess  over the amount of said lien and the  cost of such procedure shall be  returned to  the interested  person who shall have one  year thereafter  to redeem his land by payment of the amount of judgment and costs, with interest at six per centum:  Provided, however, That in the event of the cost of  maintenance being so exceptionally high in any year that it exceeds fifty per centum of the net  profits, such  exceptional  cost shall  be distributed in an  equitable manner,  over two or more  years, but not more than five; And provided, further, That in the cases in which a  crop is unharvested at the  time  of the execution of the lien the execution shall  be levied first on said  crops.

"In the preparation of the regulations mentioned in this and the next preceding section, the  customs and usages of each locality shall be taken  into consideration, and in  these regulations one day of the year shall be fixed for a meeting of all the persons interested for the purpose of preparing an estimate of  expenditures for the  next succeeding year."

SEC. 4. Section fourteen  of Act Numbered Twenty-one hundred and fifty-two, as amended by  section six  of Act Numbered  Twenty-six hundred and fifty-two, is  hereby further amended to read as follows:

"SEC. 14. Any person  hereafter desiring to  appropriate any public water shall previously make an application to the Secretary of  Commerce and Communications through the Director of Public Works.

"This application shall set forth:

" (a)  The name and post-office address of the applicant.

"(b)  The source from which  said appropriation shall be made.

"(c)  The place  or site of diversion.

" (d)  The approximate amount of water to be diverted.

"(e)  A description of the proposed works.

" (f)  The purpose or object of the appropriation.

" (g)  If  for  irrigation, a description  of  the land to be irrigated and the area thereof, and any  additional facts required by the Secretary of Commerce and  Communications.

" (h)  The names and post-office addresses of all persons known to have interest, either directly or indirectly, relative to the application.

"On receipt of this application, which  shall be on a form prescribed  by the Secretary of Commerce and  Communications, and to be furnished by the Director of Public Works without cost to the applicant,  it shall be  the  duty  of the Director of Public Works to make a record thereof in his office,  and  to  carefully examine the  same  to ascertain whether it sets forth all facts necessary to determine the nature and the amount of the proposed appropriation. "If the application be defective it shall  be  the duty of the Director of Public Works to point out the defects noted and return it to the applicant for correction, and sixty  days after receipt thereof by said applicant shall be allowed for the refiling thereof.  If refiled, corrected  in proper form, within such time the application  shall  take priority as of the date of original filing, subject to compliance with the further provisions  of  the  law  and the regulations there- under : Provided, That prior to the approval of the application the applicant shall  not be  authorized to perform any work for the use of the waters: Provided, further,  That during the pendency of any application  for the appropriation of the waters of a river or other stream designated by the Secretary of Commerce and Communications previous to the filing of the application, for the determination of existing rights  in accordance with sections five, six, seven, and eight of Act Numbered Twenty-one hundred and fifty-two, as amended by sections one and two  of  Act Numbered Twenty-six hundred and fifty-two,  the  Director of Public Works may, in his discretion, issue temporary permits for the appropriation of waters, upon approval by the Secretary of Commerce and Communications."

SEC.  5. Section fifteen of Act Numbered Twenty-one hundred and fifty-two, as amended by section seven of Act Numbered Twenty-six hundred and  fifty-two, is hereby further amended to read as follows:

"SEC. 15. When  the original or corrected application is filed in accordance with the requirements of this Act, the Director of Public Works shall,  within thirty days, cause to be published in English and when advisable in Spanish and in the local dialects, once a week for four consecutive weeks in the Official Gazette, a  notice showing:

"(a)  The name of the applicant;

"(b)  Date of filing of  application;

"(c)  The information  required in section fourteen hereof under (b), (c), (d),  (e), (/), and (g). "Such notice shall also  be posted in English, Spanish, and the local dialect,  for the period of four  weeks provided in the next preceding paragraph, at the usual place for posting public notices in  the  municipalities affected  by the appropriation, and shall besides be published once a week by means of bandillos or public criers:  Provided,  That any  person interested may object to  the appropriation within the time limit stated in the notice  and fixed by the Director of Public Works,  which shall not be less than thirty days nor more than sixty days, beginning with the last day of the publication in  the Official Gazette of the said  notice, filing with the said Director of Public Works a written protest stating reasons for the objection.  Upon termination of the period set for the filing  of protests, the Director  of Public Works shall make the necessary investigation  regarding the  appropriation, and  any  objections that  may have been filed, taking testimony, if necessary, in accordance with the provisions  of section eight hereof and shall make report upon the case to the Secretary of Commerce and Communications, who shall take action  thereon, after reviewing the evidence in support of  and against the appropriation.  The decision of the Secretary of Commerce and Communications shall be subject  to appeal in accordance with the provisions of section four  of this Act."

SEC.  6. Section eighteen  of Act Numbered Twenty-one hundred and fifty-two, as amended by section nine of  Act Numbered Twenty-six hundred  and  fifty-two,  is  hereby further amended  to read as follows:

"SEC. 18. Upon the approval of the completed work by the Director of Public Works, he shall issue to the applicant a certificate signed by the Secretary of Commerce and Communications,  setting forth the name  of the applicant, the date, source, purpose,  and amount of the appropriation, and if for irrigation,  a description of the land to be irrigated, which certificate shall within  one year after its issuance be recorded in the province  in which  the point  of  diversion of the appropriation is, as well as in the province where the water is used, in the same manner as is provided in section  nine of this Act  for the registration of certificates of appropriation.  The priority of such new appropriation shall date from the filing of the application in the office of the Director of Public Works."

SEC.  7. Section twenty-five of Act Numbered Twenty-one hundred and fifty-two is  hereby amended to read as follows: "Sec. 25. Upon determination by the Secretary of Commerce 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 approximate annual charge per hectare of said land to cover the  cost  of  construction.

" (c)  The  number of annual installments, which in no case shall be less than twenty nor more than forty, in which said construction charge shall be paid.

" (d)  The estimated approximate annual cost of maintenance and  operation.

"(e)  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 Commerce and  Communications  shall publish  or cause to be published in English and, when 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 and 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 by bandillos or public criers."

SEC. 8. A  new section is hereby inserted between sections twenty-five  and twenty-six of Act  Numbered Twenty-one hundred and fifty-two  which shall  be known as section twenty-five (A) and shall read as follows:

"SEC. 25  (A).—The Secretary of Commerce  and  Communications, in addition to the powers vested in him by the Irrigation  Law,  shall  also  have  authority  to  order  the removal of any obstacle to the free course of public waters, canals,  ditches, or irrigation systems which may redound to the detriment  of public or private rights  recognized by the Irrigation Law and its amendments, and  shall give  the party concerned a period not to exceed thirty days for  the removal, of such obstacle, which period may be extended if the nature  of the construction  or some fortuitous  cause requires it.

"Any natural or juridical person failing to comply with any legal order for the  removal of any obstacle shall be punished in accordance with the provisions of section forty- seven of Act Numbered Twenty-one hundred and fifty-two."

SEC. 9. This Act shall take effect  on its approval.

Approved, December  5, 1924.