The country’s farm, water, and environment agencies have been directed to brace for a strong El Niño that government forecasters expect to set in around the end of June into July, Malacañang disclosed Monday.
At a briefing, Presidential Communications Office Undersecretary Claire Castro told reporters that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. issued the marching orders before flying out for his state visit to Japan the previous week.
Among the instructions, Marcos called for the revival of the Department of Agriculture’s El Niño team, which draws together the agency’s attached bodies — the National Food Authority, the Philippine Coconut Authority, and the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources. That group has been assigned to identify areas at risk of drought, extend crop protection through the Philippine Crop Insurance Corp., restore and upgrade irrigation and water-harvesting facilities, and push alternate wetting and drying methods, among other measures.
A separate set of directives went to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, alongside the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System, the Local Water Utilities Administration, the National Water Resources Board, and the National Irrigation Administration. These offices were told to clear silt from reservoirs and water facilities, sustain conservation efforts, roll out water tanks and treatment units, and give first claim to household water needs.
Castro framed the wider intent of the plan in plain terms. “The purpose for this, firstly, is for water security, food security, to have energy security, for health protection and for public safety,” she said.
She added that the items laid out so far represent only part of a broader program. “These are just a few of the things that have been discussed; there are many more action plans that will be implemented because it is expected that we will have El Niño in July… the end of June, July,” Castro said in Filipino.
