San Juan City Mayor and Metro Manila Council (MMC) President Francis Zamora urged the public on Thursday, June 15, to be responsible in using water and to recycle it as part of the country's efforts in mitigating the expected adverse effects of the El Niño phenomenon to the society.
In a MMC meeting held at the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) head office, Zamora stressed the importance of conserving water as early as now as the primary dams that are supplying water to households in the National Capital Region (NCR) continues to decline despite the occasional rains brought by "habagat".
"Ang nakikita po ay kailangan talaga nating magkaroon ng water conservation and recycling. Ibig sabihin, kung sa basura eh nagre-recycle and nagre-reuse tayo, sa paggamit ng tubig po ay dapat ganun din. Dapat mag-recycle at mag-reuse po tayo ng tubig (What I'm seeing right now is the need for us to have proper knowledge on water conservation and recycling, which means that if garbage can be recycled and reused, then we should also do the same with water. We have to recycle and reuse water)," Zamora said.
"Samin sa city hall pwede na ngayon maggawa ng rain catchment areas, ganun din sa aming barangay halls, preschools, government facilities, at ganun din sa ating kanya-kanyang mga tahanan. Ang ibig sabihin ng water catchment ay sasaluhin lang natin 'yung rainwater. Pag umuulan sasaluhin natin 'yung tubig tapos sa pamamagitan ng paggawa ng mga embudo, pagkuha ng mga drum na pagsasalukan ng tubig, ito ay gagamitin natin sa ibat ibang paraan. Pwedeng panglinis ng bahay, pwedeng pandilig ng mga halaman depende na sa linis ng tubig na makukuha (We, at the city hall, are now creating rain catchment areas as well as in our barangay halls, preschools, government facilities, as well as in our own homes. Water catchment means that we are catching and storing rainwater with the use of funnels and drums so that we may use it in our daily needs. We may use it for cleaning our homes, watering of plants, and many other uses depending on the cleanliness of the water that we have collected)," he explained.
According to the mayor, the city government will allocate funds to purchase drums to be distributed to the local government facilities as well as barangays. It would also help San Juaneños learn how to effectively conserve water.
The local chief previously announced that there will be no dousing of water on passersby and motorists in celebration of its Wattah Wattah Festival on June 24 as part of the city government's efforts in conserving water amid the scorching heat being recorded in the country.
"Ngayon pa lang po ina-announce ko na na ang magiging selebrasyon ng ating Wattah Wattah Festival sa June 24 ay isang selebrasyon kung saang mapapakita din natin 'yung paggamit ng tubig ay bibigyan namin ng kahalagahan. Ibig sabihin we will have a celebration that is not connected with water consumption (Today, I am already announcing that the celebration of our Wattah Wattah Festival on June 24 will be a celebration that will show how San Juaneños give importance to the proper use of water)," Zamora said.
"In short, wala po tayong magiging basaan na nakasanayan ng mga nakaraang taon. Ang gagawin po natin ay ang Basbasan sa Makabagong San Juan na ginawa po natin noong kasagsagan ng Covid-19 kung saan ang ating patron na si San Juan Bautista ay inikot natin sa kabuuan ng lungsod upang basbasan ang ating mga mamamayan (In short, there will be no dousing of water that has become our tradition in the previous years. We will instead hold our Basbasan sa Makabagong San Juan which we had done during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic. In Basbasan sa Makabagong San Juan, our patron saint, St. John The Baptist, will be paraded around the city to bless our citizens)," he added.
On May 2, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) raised the possibility of El Niño developing in the coming months from “watch” to “alert,” the second to the last stage of the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) Alert and Warning System.
El Niño or warm phase is characterized by unusually warmer-than-average sea surface temperatures in the central and eastern equatorial Pacific.
The weather phenomenon raises the likelihood of below-average rainfall conditions which might have adverse impact such as drought and dry spells in several parts of the country.
“Recent conditions and model forecasts indicate that El Niño may emerge in the coming season, June-July-August, at 80 percent probability and may persist until the first quarter of 2024,” PAGASA said in its advisory.
“With this development, the PAGASA El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) Alert and Warning System is now raised to El Niño Alert,” it added.
The next and final stage of the ENSO Alert System is activated when the climate phenomenon reaches “full-blown” El Niño status.