Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, July 10) — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said the government is set to release this week its El Niño mitigation plan, with key departments ordered to be on top in helping the country brace for the phenomenon’s negative effects.
“We will have a plan for the mitigation of the effects of El Niño this week. I just spoke to the Secretary of DENR (Maria Antonia Loyzaga) this morning and she told me that she will be prepared to make public what needs to be done,” Marcos said during a meeting in the Palace on Monday.Last week, the state weather bureau announced that a “weak” El Niño already began in the Pacific Ocean, with rainfall in the Philippines seen to decrease by October.The Water Resources Management Office, a unit under the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), will release the plan of action.
The DENR, the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), the Department of Agriculture, and the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) have joined forces to boost mitigation efforts “at least for this year,” the president said.
He also noted that the government would tap the expertise of former Public Works and Highways Secretary Rogelio Singson.
As a water management expert, Singson would assist the government in crafting its contingency plan for El Niño.
Marcos also reiterated the need to reduce the country’s dependence on water supply from underground water to surface water.
“Because we have enough surface water. It’s just a question of protecting it. We are designing now a system of catchment basins not only for flood control. The original plan was only for flood control. But now, we have said we have to… that flood control always now includes irrigation and sometimes even power, if we can do it,” he explained.
Marcos also said existing dams can deliver “continuous supply” to the agriculture sector.“We have a plan. So we are making sure that we will be ready when that time comes,” he added.On Sunday, the WRMO released Bulletin No. 2 which expanded its water conservation directive to cover the National Capital Region and adjacent provinces to prepare for the adverse effects of El Niño.
