PB approves resolution: State of calamity declaration lifted

CEBU, Philippines — The Cebu Provincial Board has passed a resolution lifting the state of calamity declaration of the province due to the ill-effects of El Niño phenomenon.

The resolution, sponsored by Provincial Board Victoria Corominas-Toribio, was approved following the recommendation of Governor Gwendolyn Garcia to lift the state of calamity in the Province of Cebu.

“Upon the recommendation of the Honorable Gwendolyn F. Garcia in her capacity as the Governor of the Province of Cebu and as the Chairperson of the PDRRMC, this august body finds it necessary to LIFT the previously declared STATE OF CALAMITY in the Province of Cebu,” the resolution reads.

It also stated that after recent comprehensive assessments and province-wide consultations, the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council (PDRRMC) reported that the conditions that prompted the declaration of a State of Calamity due to El Niño have sufficiently subsided.

Assessments and consultations of the situation were made possible through the collaboration with the Local Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Offices (LDRRMO) of all towns and components cities within Cebu Province.

“The PDRRMO reports significant improvements in the province’s recovery from the El Niño phenomenon. Water resources are replenishing, and the agricultural sector is no longer experiencing drought conditions,” Garcia wrote in her letter addressed to the provincial board.

Garcia said that as the ill effects of El Niño have subsided, the province is now in a better position to address remaining issues and challenges.

She added that the lifting of the declaration will allow Cebu Province to transition to recovery and rehabilitation efforts while ensuring that appropriate measures will remain in place to address any lingering effects of the El Niño phenomenon.

To recall, the provincial board on May 20 approved a resolution declaring a state of calamity in the entire Province of Cebu upon recommendation of the PDRRMC.

Garcia had also issued an executive order (EO) putting the entire province of Cebu under state of calamity due to the “persistent rise in temperature” and after the ongoing dry spell “severely depleted our water resources, crucial for agriculture, livestock and aquaculture, negatively impacting Cebuanos who rely in these resources.”

With this, the provincial government has allocated P3 million each to its towns and cities as financial assistance, following the Provincial Board’s declaration of a state of calamity due to the devastating effects of the El Niño phenomenon in the province.

The El Niño Phenomenon has greatly impacted the agriculture, fisheries and livestock sectors threatening the farmers’ livelihood as well as the province’s food security. — (FREEMAN)