P19.2-B budget recommended to fight El Niño

MANILA, Philippines - The El Niño Task Force is recommending a P19.2-billion budget to deal with the negative impacts of the weather phenomenon this year and next year.

Socio-Economic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan yesterday said the amount is designed to address food security, water shortage, power shortages, employment issues directly related to the phenomena and other negative effects.

“This is, however, still an indicative figure as it still has to get the approval of the President,” Balisacan said. “The task force still does not have the report of the Department of Energy.”

Of the indicative amount, P7.5 billion will be released for this year’s requirements. The balance will be for the first semester of 2016 as the phenomenon is forecast to linger until May or June.

For water management programs, P1.75 billion will be released this year and another P2 billion in 2016. Food stamps amounting to P1.3 billion in 2015 and another P1.9 billion in 2016 will be allocated for households, which are mostly in urbanized areas.

Balisacan said the fund might come from existing budgets of the various government agencies that will be involved in mitigating the effects of El Niño and from the emergency funds of the national government.

“We are still identifying other funding sources. But remember, we have been underspending even as the economy was doing well,” he added.

The proposed budget will be presented to the President within the week.

The bulk of the allocation will go to projects that deal with water demand and its supply management.

The task force is also proposing an additional importation of one million metric tons of rice for the first semester of next year to ensure adequacy in supply and stability in price. In the disaster-riddled 1997-1998 period, prices of rice rose by at least 15 percent after its production crashed by almost 25 percent.

At least 1.9 million mt of imported rice have arrived in the first semester of the year. Another 850,000 mt is expected in the last quarter. For 2016, one million mt will be added, aside from the earlier provisioning of 500,000 mt for the first quarter.

Balisacan, who is also director general of the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), said global prices of cereals and similar commodities remain relatively low. He added that oil prices have remained low and are forecast to remain stable, thus giving the government leeway to put on hold bio-fuel projects to give way to further agriculture production.

He also said that the group is looking at other mitigating measures like cash-for-work projects in areas where drought would displace economic activity and livelihood. Also among the measures is the work-for-food activities geared for farmers. The activities could be used to upgrade their irrigation system or develop one in anticipation of better environmental conditions.

The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) forecasts that 66 provinces, including leading rice producers, would be seriously affected by El Niño. The country’s rice-producing provinces are Isabela, Mindoro, Quezon, Albay, Aklan, Antique, Iloilo, South Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat and Zamboanga.

Seven provinces, mostly in Luzon, are experiencing drought conditions. PAGASA also projects that the number will reach 16 before October ends and 66 by the second quarter of next year.