P4M left in Capitol budget for El Niño

CEBU, Philippines- While the El Niño phenomenon is projected to last until early next year, the Cebu provincial government only has P4 million left in its budget for El Niño-related emergency responses.

Provincial Budget Officer Danilo Rodas reported that Capitol has shelled out P24 million from its quick response fund (QRF) to bankroll the purchase of P7.6 million worth of food supplies for its relief efforts, P2.7 million school supplies, P3.7 agricultural supplies, and P3 million water tanks.

He said the relief goods were distributed to the families in the province affected by El Niño.

Another P8.4 million was doled out from the province QRF as financial assistance to the towns that felt the brunt of tropical storm Seniang last year.

This year, the province set aside P121 million in disaster fund. At least 70 percent or P85 million was earmarked for activities and programs for disaster prevention, mitigation, and preparedness while the remaining 30 percent or P36 million was earmarked as QRF.

Rodas, however, said the province could make realignments should there be insufficiency of funds before the year ends.

In a separate interview, Baltazar Tribunalo Jr., chief of the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office, believes that the remaining fund can still sustain until the end of the year.

He said the province’s fund only serves as augmentation funds to that of local government units, being the first responders during emergency situations.

“If di makaya sa barangay, pwede motabang ang munisipyo. Di man pod tanan barangay maapektahan… Sa provincial level, let us go back to statistics. If you don’t have the data, no one will fund,” he told reporters.

Farmers

Meanwhile, local farmers in Central Visayas could be on the brink of crops production decline due to the occurrence of occasional rains.

 “Insufficient rain may be expected, causing degradation of soil for farmers to decline harvest,” said Alfredo Quiblat Jr., chief meteorological officer of PAGASA Mactan.

 PAGASA predicts that temperatures in the coming months will jack up to “slightly warmer than normal” due to the prolonged El Niño phenomenon.

 “Save and store rain water while there are still frequent rains,” Quiblat said.

 “Farmers should plant sustainable crops for dry soil that requires less irrigation,” he added.

 Cebu City Agriculture Department Chief Joelito Baclayon said the city has allocated P10 million for the procurement of 56 water impounding facilities to be distributed to the upland barangays.

 On top of this, Baclayon said they also set aside additional funding of P6 million for drums and hoses and P8 million for seedlings and fertilizers.

 “We are ready and prepared for the worse,” he told The Freeman.

Goni

 Quiblat said typhoon “Goni” is expected to enter the Philippine Area of Responsibility tomorrow afternoon.

 Once it enters PAR it will be called “Ineng.”

 Goni is one of the tropical storms forecasted outside PAR and have intensified into typhoon category. PAGASA defines a typhoon an intense tropical cyclone with maximum wind speed exceeding 118 kph.    It is seen hovering outside PAR at 2,000 kilometers east of Central Luzon with maximum sustained winds of 140 kph and gusts of up 170 kph.

 It is forecast to move west northwest at 20 kph.   Quiblat said the typhoon is not expected to make landfall in the country but it may enhance the Southwest Monsoon Thursday. By Friday, Goni will be near extreme northern Luzon.  (FREEMAN)