• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
Damage to agricultural sector in Negros Occidental has further increased to P78.451 million due to the prevailing drought brought about by El Nino phenomenon, as of March 12.
In the whole Western Visayas, the damage has reached P761.24 million.
Office of the Civil Defense (OCD)-6 Regional Director Raul Fernandez said on Wednesday (March 13) there is no declaration yet of state of calamity in any local government unit (LGU) in the region.
For an LGU to declare a state of calamity, at least 15 percent of its population should be affected and in need of assistance, based on the report of Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), and at least 30 percent of the means of livelilhood on agricultural, business and industrial is also affected.
The drought has affected 15,417 hectares of crops, as well as 20,488 farmers and fisherfolk in the region, the OCD-6 report showed.
Iloilo Province has incurred the biggest damage at P519.198 million followed by Antique, P130.701 million and Negros Occidental, P78.451 million.
Fernandez said that both the regional offices of the DSWD and the Department of Agriculture are closely coordinating to get the actual data, as to the number of affected population, which is among the criteria for local LGUs to declare a state of calamity.
Amid the drought, Fernandez said that there is no water shortage in Western Visayas, although they noted the lowering of water level in dams, with Iloilo now recording a critical low.
He said that water level in Negros Occidental remains okay, except for Himamaylan City, which reported to have water shortage in eight of its barangays. | GB
