MANILA, Philippines — A total of 131 cities and towns have been placed under state of calamity because of the effects of El Niño, which is expected to persist until the end of May, the government said yesterday.
Task Force El Niño spokesman and Presidential Communications Assistant Secretary Joey Villarama said the areas include seven provinces whose entire jurisdiction are under the calamity status, namely Occidental Mindoro, Antique, Sultan Kudarat, Basilan, Maguindanao del Sur, Maguindanao del Norte and South Cotabato.
“As of the latest update from the Office of Civil Defense, 131 cities and municipalities have declared a state of calamity. These areas are spread throughout the Philippines,” Villarama said in a chance interview.
A state of calamity declaration permits local governments to access and spend their calamity funds to assist their constituents.
Villarama said the impact of El Niño on the 131 cities and towns varies, although 41 areas are experiencing drought, defined as three consecutive months of way below normal or greater than 60-percent reduction from average rainfall condition.
An area is also hit by drought if it experiences five consecutive months of below-normal or 21 percent to 60 percent reduction from average rainfall conditions.
Some areas are hit by a dry spell or three consecutive months of below normal or 21 percent to 60 percent reduction from average rainfall conditions or two consecutive months of way-below-normal or more than 60 percent reduction from average rainfall conditions.
Others experience a dry condition or two consecutive months of below-normal or 21 percent to 60 percent reduction from average rainfall conditions.
Villarama said the amount of damage to agriculture has reached P4.39 billion, equivalent to 77,731 hectares.
He added that 77 percent of El Niño-hit farmlands could still be recovered.
“Historically, if you compare it to the worst El Niño year, which is 1997, the damaged agricultural land then was 667,000 hectares. So if you compare it to 77,000 hectares, the impact is small because of the measures implemented by the government before the onset of El Niño,” he said.
Villarama assured the public that the country’s vital resources remain “stable,” but reiterated his appeal to conserve water and electricity.
He noted that the effects El Niño would still be felt next month.
“We still have one month ... to hurdle before we hopefully transition to a neutral condition in terms of the climate pattern. We know that based on the projection or the forecast of PAGASA (Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration), the climate pattern may shift to La Niña. But even if we are already at the tail end of El Niño, it doesn’t mean that we can be complacent,” he said.
“Our resources are decreasing... If the heat index rises, the demand (for electricity) rises, so we have to conserve electricity. That also applies to water because of the prevailing dry conditions. Food supply may be affected, although our farmers are still harvesting and that can add to the food supply. All our vital resources remain stable, but our appeal to conserve resources remains so that we can hurdle the worst-case scenario at the end of this,” he added.
The government is considering conducting cloud seeding operations, but its implementation will depend on the needs of the affected areas, according to Villarama.
He said that cloud seeding has been conducted in the Cagayan region, but it is not the primary intervention for El Niño.
“We have to fulfill the condition that there should be seedable clouds, and it also depends on the wind direction. If we conduct cloud seeding and the wind direction shifts, it would just go to the sea,” he added, noting that there was a request to conduct the operation in the Magat Dam area.
Villarama cited the case of Occidental Mindoro, which is not requesting for cloud seeding operation because some of its farmers are harvesting and drying their crops.
Negros Occidental damage
The prevailing drought in Negros Occidental has wreaked havoc on the province’s livestock and poultry industry, with damage pegged at over P10 million, following the deaths of 11,556 chickens and other ruminants.
In her report to Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson, Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management officer Irene Bel Ploteña reported that El Niño also affected 870 animal raisers in 95 barangays of 21 local government units in the province.
Ploteña further said 183.15 hectares of pasture in Hinigaran, Binalbagan, La Carlota City, Pontevedra, Murcia, Bago City and Moises Padilla also have been damaged by the drought, with the amount placed at P2,685,500.
She added that in terms of livestock and poultry damage, Isabela suffered the most with 5,152 dead animals, costing P5,956.850, followed by Ilog with P1,482,950 damage because of the deaths of 4,237 animals as of April 26.
Provincial veterinarian Dr. Placeda Lemana has attributed the rising mortalities of livestock and poultry to the heat index, as high as 43 degrees Celsius.
In terms of animals, Lemana noted huge losses among poultry, with more than 10,000 died. — Gilbert Bayoran, Artemio Dumlao, Marc Jayson Cayabyab