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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Bracing for El Niño: Gov't ramps up efforts to cushion dry spell impact

Bracing for El Niño: Gov't ramps up efforts to cushion dry spell impact

Published Dec 19, 2023 11:31 am

The Philippines is gearing up for next year’s El Niño phenomenon, with Department of Defense (DND) Secretary Gilbert Teodoro on Tuesday, Dec. 19, revealing that there are now provisions for medium- and long-term infrastructure projects that would address multiple issues brought by the extreme climate.
 

Cabsecs.jpg(From left) DENR Secretary Ma. Antonio Yulo-Loyzaga, DND Secretary Gilbert Teodoro, and DOST Secretary Renato Solidum Jr. (RTVM screenshot)

 

The official said during a Palace briefing after their 15th Cabinet meeting with President Marcos that provisions for additional canals and additional backup capacity for the water district, and other medium-term and long-term projects, would be ready by the first or second quarter next year.

“Ito ay immediately mapapakinabanganan (These can immediately be beneficial),” Teodoro said.

“Kaso ito ay patuloy na proseso dahil uulit naman ito. So, ang infrastructure requirements ngayon pa lang nilalatag na ng Pangulo (But this is a continuous process because this will happen again. So, the President’s infrastructure requirements now are) not only to address this El Niño but for future cycles which is really important,” he added.

Teodoro, also the chairperson of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC), explained these interventions are part of the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Action Plan submitted to the President as these “are precisely to meet the recurring nature of El Niño and the variability of frequency of its occurrence.”

Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Secretary Ma. Antonio Yulo-Loyzaga also said that Marcos’ instruction was for the investments to be “multi-purpose.”

“So, that one investment in a kind of infrastructure can generate several values whether they are in for flood-control in the end or irrigation or eventually for water supply and distribution as well,” she explained.

“So, yung pagka-multipurpose po ng mga investments na ito (the multi-purpose of the investments) is also one way to extract the optimal value from a single investment dito sa (here in) infra,” the official added.

The rehabilitation and repair of irrigation canals and dams, as well as other interventions, are aimed to provide water supplies to farmers, Teodoro said.

President Marcos ordered the "reactivation and reconstitution" of Task Force El Niño to mitigate the effects of the phenomenon.

The task force aims to focus on water, agriculture, energy, health, and public safety as it aims to strengthen the prompt preparation, swift interventions, and continuous monitoring on the possible effects of El Niño around the country.

The reactivation of the task force is based on the NEDA action plan.

Earlier, Department of Science and Technology (DOST) Secretary Renato Solidum Jr., who will co-chair the El Niño Task Force, divulged that about 77 percent of provinces—equaling to 65 provinces—in the country will experience drought in May 2024.

The forecasted temperature next year will be from 9.4 degrees to 14.8 degrees, while “the maximum temperature in Northern Luzon around April or May can be up to 41 degrees centigrade and that would be the actual temperature.”

But he stressed that the heat index—the measure of how hot it actually feels when humidity is factored in—could bring up the temperature by five to 15 more degrees.

Related Tags

Drought Gilbert Teodoro DENR El Niño President Marcos
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