Marcos admin urged to prepare for El Niño, go beyond monitoring dam water
MANILA, Philippines — Lawmakers have urged the Marcos administration to plan ahead of the possible El Niño-induced water shortages this year to prevent widescale production losses in the agricultural sector.
Warning that the administration should brace itself for the impact of another dry spell this year, Deputy Speaker Ralph Recto (Batangas, 6th District) called on President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. to move to update the Roadmap to Address the Impact of El Nino (RAIN) — the government framework for addressing El Niño concerns.
"We just need to dust it off and brush it up, so it will be attuned to the unique characteristics of the 2023 version of El Niño," Recto said.
RAIN was created during the administration of then-President Benigno Aquino III in 2015 ahead of forecasts of a severe El Niño. The weather phenomenon, which caused a dry spell and killed farmers' crops, would go on to last for 18 months, affecting a third of the country and leading to $327 million in agricultural production losses, according to a 2019 World Bank study.
Recto also said that "assuring statements" issued by government agencies should not be limited to "dipstick readings on big water dams near Manila, because the country is big and sources are diverse."
The lawmaker also said Marcos could be "motivated" to create a comprehensive response on El Niño as it "will hit a sector which is under his jurisdiction – agriculture."
The country’s weather bureau announced that El Niño could follow after the neutral weather conditions forecasted from March to June this year. It also forecasted that the country could experience below-normal rainfall levels in the coming months.
A representative from the Department of Agriculture said that it is considering a number of measures in light of the advisory, primarily a change of calendar in planting. "Second, the water management," the official said.
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Marcos said during the 6th Water Philippines Conference and Exposition in March that he has signed an executive order to create an office of water resource management to help the government streamline policies addressing the shortage of water supply.
Meanwhile, Sen. Grace Poe said on Monday that El Nino is a "predictable phenomenon," effects of which – such as dry taps parched soil, and dwindling dam levels – could be prevented by early government intervention.
"By this time, we expect the Water Resources Management Office to get its feet wet amid the water shortage being felt by households, businesses and the agriculture sector," Poe said.
Both the Senate and the House of Representatives have pending bills seeking to create a department to manage water resources – one of the items in Marcos’ priority measures announced during his first State of the Nation address.
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At least 11 million Filipino families still lack access to clean water, according to the National Water Resources Board (NWRB) in March.
Due to El Niño, there might be a decrease in rainfall not only in Metro Manila but in different parts of the country, affecting the water supply, especially in farms, a representative of NWRB said. — Cristina Chi
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