PAGASA: Brace for more heat

CEBU, Philippines - The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration said the chance of El Niño happening is getting stronger, based on local and international data.

“Kun ang prediction sa una is 50/50 chance of El Niño, karon above 50 percent na gyud ang chance,” said Alfredo Quiblat Jr., PAGASA Mactan chief  meteorological officer.

He said PAGASA is foreseeing the onset of El Niño in June, he added that it might last up to the first quarter of 2015.

Quiblat said this month will grow steadily hotter, with the third week of May estimated to be the hottest.

“Ang May gyud ang kina-initan karong tuiga sa tibuok nasod,” he said.

However, he said even with this dry spell, there will still be intermittent rains.

“Bisan sa kainit sa panahon, naa gihapon ta’y advisory nga thunderstorm and cloudy skies pero sa selected areas ra na and dali ra kaayo moundang,” he said.

Quiblat said it pays if people will heed the advice of the Department of Health to drink plenty of water to avoid dehydration. He said the public should also avoid exposing too much skin to the sun to avoid heat stroke and skin diseases.

He added one of the effects of El Niño would be the lack of water supply, so the public should conserve water. However, it was earlier reported that Metropolitan Cebu Water District has sufficient water supply for Metro Cebu.

Widespread drought

The Provincial Government is also preparing for El Niño, which is expected to cause drought all over the province.

“We’re prepared. First of all we have to inform the farmers. We have the FSTP (Farmer Scientist Training Program)… ang information dissemination naa man na,” said Governor Hilario Davide III.

Davide said he has already tasked the Capitol’s departments on agriculture and veterinary to go to the field and instruct the farmers on what to do in the event of the El Niño.

Provincial Agriculturist Roldan Saragena is set to convene all the municipal agriculturists in the province to discuss matters related to the impending phenomenon.

“Magpatawag ta’g meeting. Tabangan nato atong mga farmers aron ma-aware sila nga di magpataka’g tanom kay masayang ra ang mga binhi,” he said.

FSTP is an agricultural strategy wherein farmers are given technical assistance by experts by introducing new and scientific farming methods so as to increase production.

Saragena further urged the farmers to practice multi-cropping approach and plant only short duration crops which they can already harvest after 25 days.

“Sa usa ka lugar puwede tulo ka klase ka tanom atong ibutang. Under the cornfield, naa’y camote, mani, mais ba kaha ron. Kung mahimo duol sa source of water kay mild El Niño  raman gud daw ni. So di madali-dali kahubas nang mga tubig,” he explained.

The province’s agriculture office has also coordinated with the Department of Agriculture-7 for the implementation of water catchment system where farmers can practice in order to conserve water.

Saragena reminded the farmers to observe the climate.

“Be vigilant ta sa dagan sa panahon. Makisusi sa Agriculture offices kay lisod kaayo makatanom ka. Makauwan ka usa unya magtuo ka nga mao na to unya ini’g ugma moinit, masayang ang liso,” he added.

Davide said since many people already know about the effects of El Niño there is no more need to call this to the attention of the public via a summit or a conference.

“We are aware of that, we are taking measures,” he said. Davide did not say if the Capitol will set aside a special fund to mitigate the effects of El Niño.

Cebu City is also gearing up to cushion the effects of this phenomenon by setting aside P5.2 million to aid its farmers.

Bush and forest fire warnings

Dry spells usually cause bush and forest fires. With this, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources-7 called on to the public to help them prevent such events by being vigilant.

DENR-7 Regional Executive Director Isabelo Montejo intends to strengthen the local community fire brigade in every plantation in the region.

 â€œWe have composed a fire brigade in all of our National Greening Program (NGP) plantations particularly in nine critical areas to focus more on fire prevention rather than control,” Montejo said.

For a comprehensive coverage, DENR has identified critical or hotspot areas with large NGP and previous growth plantation projects of the national government.

These include Argao and Oslob in Cebu province; Ubay, Buenavista, Getafe, Pilar, and Talibon, in Bohol province; and Ayungon and Bindoy in Negros Oriental.

DENR also directed the community environment and natural resources officers to install firelines, 10-meter wide vegetation-free strips that is usually established at the borders of the plantation and at given intervals inside the plantation, with the aim of containing possible fires.

This is aside from establishing greenbreaks or shelterbelts which are strips of vegetation composed of fire-resistant trees, shrubs and vines.

Carelessness and irresponsible activities of humans that lead to fire, like throwing lighted cigarette butts, untended campfires and slash-and-burn planting were listed as those that have to be avoided.

Regular clearing of dried leaves from these plantations and forests was also encouraged as grasses and other vegetation dry up and become very flammable during summer or dry months.

As part of empowering the community in aiding the national government in preventing fires, training on forest fire prevention was conducted in various places in Region 7 with combined participants of at least 365 mostly members of the people’s organization and “Bantay Lasang,” the AFP, barangay officials, and forest guards.  In Dumaguete City, Ayungon and Siaton, all in Negros Oriental, they were held last April 23, April 21-22 and April 24-25, respectively; last April 14-16 in Ubay, Bohol; and last April 11-12 in Daanglungsod, Oslob, Cebu.

The said training included forest fire behavior, forest fire control, fire suppression tactics and techniques, tools, safety and welfare where a demonstration on how to properly use the tools and fire suppression techniques was made. — Jean Marvette A. Demecillo, Liv G. Campo, Michael Vencynth H. Braga and Jessa J. Agua/BRP