President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. directed government agencies to come up with a “whole-of-nation” and “whole-of-government” approach in preparing for the El Niño phenomenon that could hit the country this year. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. at a sectoral meeting in Malacañang. (Photo from Presidential Communications Office)
Office of Civil Defense (OCD) Administrator Undersecretary Ariel Nepomuceno said in a press briefing on Tuesday, April 18, that the President asked selected government agencies to come up with a campaign to generate public awareness to conserve water and energy, among others. “Nagbigay po kanina ng malinaw na instructions or utos ang Pangulong Bongbong Marcos na palakasin pa ho natin iyong paghahanda doon sa inaasahang masamang epekto ng El Niño (President Bongbong Marcos gave clear instructions earlier to strengthen our preparations against the expected adverse effects of El Niño),” the official explained. He shared that the country needs to prepare for a possible water shortage as the President also instructed for a public awareness campaign “immediately.” Conserving water, however, must be started by government agencies and public institutions, including schools, Nepomuceno added. Aside from conserving water, Marcos also wants the public to conserve electricity to cushion the effects of the dry spell, which could intensify in the last quarter of the year or early next year. There are two specific instructions given by the President, the OCD official said. One is the adoption of a whole-of-government or whole-of-nation approach, and the other one is putting up protocol-based and scientific long-term processes that could be adopted by the country. “So, ang gusto ng Pangulo po natin ay convergence effort po ito (The President wants this to be a convergence effort),” said National Irrigation Administration (NIA) Acting Administrator Eduardo Guillen. Through the mechanisms of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC), the President specifically instructed concerned government agencies to quickly form an El Niño team so they could effectively respond to the crisis, according to the OCD official. Based on the latest forecast of the Department of Science and Technology-Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Administration (DOST-PAGASA), the probability of the occurrence of El Niño increased to 80 percent this coming June, July, and August. The forecast also noted that the probability of El Niño occurence may also spike to about 86 percent for the months of November, December, and January. The sectoral meeting was attended by the chiefs of the Department of National Defense (DND), Department of Energy (DOE), Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), Department of Science and Technology (DOST), National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC), Department of Agriculture (DA), Department of Health (DOH), National Water Resources Board (NWRB),  Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage Systems (MWSS) and NIA.