Marcos orders reactivation of Task Force El Niño

President Ferdinand ''Bongbong'' Marcos Jr. directed the reactivation and reconstitution of the Task Force El Niño.

In signing Executive Order No. 53, Marcos said the "recurrence of the El Niño phenomenon calls for the implementation of both short and long-term solutions to ensure food, water and energy security, safeguard livelihoods, and improve the country's disaster and climate resilience."

The EO stated that the Secretary of the Department of National Defense will serve as the chairperson of the task force while the Secretary of the Department of Science and Technology will be the co-chairperson.

Members of the task force include secretaries of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Department of Agriculture, Department of Health, and the National Economic and Development Authority.

Meanwhile, the Office of Civil Defense shall provide administrative and technical support to the task force in the performance of its functions.

The task force is directed to revise and update the Strategic El Niño National Action Plan, monitor the implementation of short and long-term solutions and programs identified in the Strategic El Niño National Action Plan, and coordinate with all concerned agencies in expediting the completion of all ongoing water infrastructure projects intended to cushion or mitigate the impacts of the dry spell not later than the end of April 2024.

It is also tasked to coordinate with the Presidential Communications Office in conducting a massive information campaign on the El Niño phenomenon.

Further, the task force is ordered to submit to the President, through the Office of the Executive Secretary, a monthly report on the implementation of the EO.

The task force is also mandated to establish the El Niño Online Platform, which will serve as a centralized repository for a wide range of data, research, and information concerning El Niño, such as interactive maps and visualizations, as well as well-informed, data-driven plans and programs related to the phenomenon. 

Citing data from weather bureau PAGASA, the PCO said El Niño would likely persist until the second quarter of 2024.

To recall, it was in April last year when the President called for the creation of a team that would focus on mitigating the effects of the El Niño phenomenon.

The El Niño phenomenon is characterized by the abnormal warming of sea surface temperatures in the central and eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean and below-normal rainfall.—LDF, GMA Integrated News