High-level La Niña meeting set today
El Niño now at its tail end; damage to agri surges to ₱6.35 B
The House of Representatives will now shift its focus to responding to emerging problems of La Niña, from attending to challenges pose by El Niño which has already caused ₱6.35 billion in damage to agriculture.
Speaker Martin Romualdez is scheduled to lead a high-level meeting this afternoon, May 14, to tackle flood preparation and mitigation in Metro Manila and other flood-prone areas in the country.
Invited to attend the conference were the secretaries of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), as well as the Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) chairman.
“Seryoso nating pinaghahandaan ang pagdating ng La Niña bago pa man ito maka-apekto sa ating bansa (We must seriously prepare for the onset of La Niña before it can affect our country),”
Romualdez said, as he noted that the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical (PAGASA) has already raised the alarm in this regard.
The House leader said today’s meeting aims to foster a unified strategy will not only address the immediate impacts of potential flooding but also fortifies long-term resilience in communities at risk.
“The dialogue will focus on integrating infrastructure development, environmental management, and community-based approaches to form a comprehensive flood mitigation framework. The insights and agreements from this meeting will be pivotal in shaping the national response to flood risks,” he added.
Romualdez said food security, sufficient water supply, energy availability, public health, public safety, mobility, and interconnectivity would be given priority in the preparations.
“Kailangang mahigpit ang ugnayan ng national government at mga local government unit para maipatupad ang mga aksyon sa malawakang paghahanda na gagawin natin (The national government and the LGUS must tighten their coordination in order to implement the action that that we will plan for),” he said. “Ang utos sa atin ng Pangulong Ferdinand Marcos Jr. ay gawin ang lahat ng nararapat para tiyakin na ligtas sa kapahamakan ang mga komunidad at ang bawat pamilyang Pilipino (President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s directive was for us to do everything necessary in ensuring the communities and every Filipino family are safe from harm).”
He urged communities to join the national government and LGUS in preparing for possible floods.
DA gearing for La Niña
With the impending La Niña phenomenon, the Department of Agriculture (DA) has instructed its field offices nationwide to brace for its adverse impact.
On May 9, DA Assistant Secretary for Operations U-nichols Manalo said La Niña’s agricultural damage is expected to be more massive than the damage caused by the dry spell.
The DA, he said, has been coordinating with farmer groups for drainage water management for farms. It is also looking into areas that have been affected by La Niña in its past 16 episodes in the country.
Now that the El Niño damage to agriculture has reached ₱6.35 billion, the DA said only minimal changes in the figure are expected as the harvest season, especially for palay, is already over.
“Kung madagdagan man [ang damage to Agriculture due to El Niño] napaka kaunti na lang siguro sa mga lugar na mayroon pa (If there are any additional damage to agriculture due to El Niño, it would probably be very minimal, especially in areas that still have some),” Agriculture Assistant Secretary Arnel de Mesa, DA spokesperson, said over the weekend. “Kasi tapos na rin ‘yung harvest ng palay and we’re already preparing doon sa ating taniman pagdating ng wet season na nag-start din ngayong buwan ng Mayo (Because the rice harvest has concluded, and we’re now getting ready for planting as the wet season began this May).”
Based on the latest monitoring of the DA, 121,389 farmers and fisherfolk have been affected by El Niño.
The agency said 111,702 hectares of agricultural areas were affected in 12 regions, including Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR), Ilocos Region, Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, Calabarzon, Mimaropa, Bicol Region, Western Visayas, Eastern Visayas, Zamboanga Peninsula, Davao Region, and Soccsksargen.
According to the DA, production losses in the affected agricultural regions are 134,828 metric tons (MT) for rice, 105,896 MT for corn, 28,956 MT for high-value crops, and 140 MT for cassava, totaling 269,416 MT.
Gov’t aid
El Niño-affected farmers and fishers have been provided with ₱2.37 billion worth of interventions, the DA said. It gave ₱1.26 billion in financial assistance through the Rice Farmers Financial Assistance (RFFA) in Regions II, IV-B, and XII.
The DA Regional Field Offices also provided ₱658.22 million worth of assistance for production support (agri-inputs, fertilizers, planting materials, pumps and engines, HDPE hose, drugs and biologics).