MANILA, Philippines - President Benigno Aquino III met with his Cabinet on Monday to discuss the government efforts in addressing the El Niño.
"President Aquino directed the Cabinet to prepare a detailed road map for addressing the adverse effects of the El Niño phenomenon toward the end of the year and into the first four months of 2016," Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. said in a statement.
Coloma said the food security council will be convened by its chair, National Economic and Development Authority Secretary Arsenio Balisacan, to map out specific action programs on attaining food production and supply objectives and sustenance of farmers' incomes.
The food security council is composed of the Department of Agriculture, Department of Trade and Industry, Department of Finance, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration, National Food Authority, National Irrigation Administration and the Philippine Statistics Authority.
Another task group headed by Public Works Secretary Rogelio Singson will tackle the adequacy of potable water supply.
The group is composed of representatives of the Local Water Utilities Administration, National Water Resource Board, Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System and the National Irrigation Administration.
Aquino also directed the National Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council to coordinate with its local councils in preparing and implementing community-based water conservation and other mitigation programs.
The Cabinet meeting in Malacañang started at 11 a.m. and is still ongoing as of writing time.
During the second half of the meeting, the Cabinet secretaries presented highlights of their respective departments' performance in the first half of the year.
The Cabinet officials also reported on vital programs for implementation for the rest of 2015.
'Among the strongest El Niño since 1950'
El Niño can cause unusually heavy rains in some parts of the world and drought elsewhere. It began in March and is seen to last for a year.
Scientists of the United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Climate Prediction Center predicted that the El Niño weather phenomenon that began this year could be “among the strongest El Niños in the historical record dating back to 1950.”
Deputy director Mike Halpert said the average sea surface temperatures in the equatorial Pacific could reach or exceed 2 degrees Celsius above normal, a phenomenon recorded only thrice in the last 65 years.
READ: Government prepared for strong El Niño