The number of El Niño-affected provinces may hit 80 by the end of April, Task Force El Niño said on Monday, April 1.

(Photo courtesy of Department of Agriculture/PhilRice)

Task Force El Niño spokesperson Joey Villarama said during the Bagong Pilipinas briefing that the El Niño phenomenon will have different impact on the provinces.
 

“Pagtungtong po ng pagtatapos ng Abril, baka ‘yung otsenta pong iyon eh apektado na in varying degrees. Iyon ‘yung dry conditions, dry spell at saka drought (By the end of April, maybe those 80 will be affected in varying degrees. That’s the dry conditions, dry spell, and drought),” he explained.
 

This number is up from the 67 to 71 provinces that the official said would be affected by the phenomenon in the next three months.
 

Villarama noted that the task force is keeping a close eye on Regions 1, 2, 3, 4A, 4B, 6, 9, and 12.
 

So far, there are 16 towns have already declared a state of calamity due to El Niño, Villarama said, adding that Occidental Mindoro is the most affected province as it has declared a state of calamity for the entire province.
 

Western Visayas (Region 6) is also being adversely impacted, while Iloilo and Capiz have declared a suspension of classes for April 1 and 2 due to “high heat conditions.”
 

The task force spokesperson underscored the need to monitor the situation in the next two months because of the onset of the summer season.
 

“Iyong susunod na dalawang buwan ang binabantayan talaga natin, dahil nga officially pumasok na iyong summer season. As I mentioned that, tumataas na konsumo ng tubig (We are really monitoring the next two months because officially, it’s summer season. As I mentioned, water consumption is also increasing),” he said.
 

Villarama, however, assured that the government has prepared mitigation measures and interventions to provide financial and other kinds of assistance—providing high-value seeds for high-value crops—to the affected provinces.
 

The official also revealed that the local government units affected severely affected by El Niño are requesting for “alternative ways of getting water whether dissecting of shallow tube wells or diversion from communal irrigation system.”
 

Citing the March 25 data, Villarama said that El Niño’s damage to the agricultural sector has reached P1.75 billion.
 

This translates to roughly 32,231 hectares of farmlands that have been affected, although he said that 79 percent of the area “has a chance to be salvaged or recovered.”