PHL needs around P19.2B vs. El Niño

The Philippine government is allotting at least P19.2 billion for programs aimed at mitigating the adverse effects of El Niño.

 

El Niño is a warming of the Pacific Ocean near the equator, displacing the cooler water normally found near the eastern Pacific and setting off atmospheric changes that affect weather patterns in many parts of the world, according to study.com.

 

"This is still very indicative... but it is amounting already to something like P19.2 billion covering both the remaining months of this year and next year," Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan told reporters late Monday.

 

In the fourth quarter alone, when El Niño is expected to intensify, concerned government agencies are expected to require an estimated P7.5 billion. On top of that amount will be earmarked for the first six months of 2016.

 

The budget covers cash-for-work programs for farmers and other affected sectors, support for agriculture production in less vulnerable areas, and food stamps for the urban poor, among other projects.

 

"These interventions have to be monitored closely because the impact of the El Niño and the intensity vary across provinces," Balisacan noted.

 

The current El Niño cycle will impact on 66 provinces, seven of which have already started experiencing drought, according to state weather bureau PAGASA.

 

Concerned government agencies, including the Departments of Agriculture and of Energy, could utilize their emergency funds and other existing allocations to implement mitigation measures.

 

"Some of them have their emergency funds, but of course there are conditions for the release, like 'Do we need to declare a state of emergency first?'" Balisacan said.

 

The inter-agency El Niño Task Force is arranging a meeting with President Benigno Aquino III this week to present measures aimed at cushioning the impact of the weather phenomenon that brings about extreme drought.

 

"A mature and strong El Niño is now present in the tropical Pacific Ocean," according to PAGASA's latest bulletin. 

 

"A consensus of climate models shows that it will likely strengthen further before the year end and may last until the first half of 2016. This 2015-16 El Niño event will potentially be among the four strongest events since 1950 (1972-73, 1982-83, 1997-98)," the weather bureau added. – VS, GMA News