• CHERYL G. CRUZ
Forty-six provinces in the country, including Negros Occidental and the rest of Western Visayas, will continue to experience drought until end of next month, the DOST-Visayas PAGASA Regional Services Division (VPRSD) said April 14.
As per the dry condition/dry spell/drought outlook for April to September 2024, the VPRSD said that drought, or three consecutive months of way below normal rainfall condition, is likely until end of May in Negros Occidental, Aklan, Antique, Capiz, Iloilo, and Guimaras, all in Region 6, as well as in Biliran, Bohol, Cebu, Eastern Samar, Leyte, Negros Oriental, Northern Samar, Samar, Siquijor, Southern Leyte, in the Visayas;
The Spratly Islands, Abra, Apayao, Batangas, Benguet, Cagayan, Camarines Norte, Cavite, Ifugao, Ilocos Sur, Isabela, Kalinga, Masbate, Metropolitan Manila, Mountain Province, Nueva Ecija, Nueva Vizcaya, Occidental Mindoro, Oriental Mindoro, and Palawan in Luzon, and;
Agusan del Norte, Camiguin, Lanao del Norte, Lanao del Sur, Misamis Occidental, Misamis Oriental, Tawi-Tawi, Zamboanga del Norte, Zamboanga del Sur, and Zamboanga Sibugay in Mindanao.
The extended period of unusually dry weather could start to ease up by end of June, with only about 20 provinces still likely to experience drought, including 17 areas in Luzon, Biliran and Southern Leyte in the Visayas, and Dinagat Islands in Mindanao.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., during his visit to Bacolod City April 8, said that the government is implementing different approaches to mitigate the effects of the prolonged El Niño phenomenon.
“Actually, ang katotohanan niyan, lahat maapektuhan. Kahit gaano kalala ang magiging effect ng El Niño. It’s really, ang mga probinsya sa Western side na tinatamaan, Western Luzon tapos dito, Region 6. So, those are the areas nag declare ng (state of) calamity,” Marcos told reporters.
“But the other areas, although ramdam pa rin, hindi naman critical. As a matter of fact, kasi naglagay nga tayo ng mga dam. Patuloy nating inayos ang ating irigasyon, we should, and we are trying new techniques of planting. We are harvesting more palay now than we did last year despite the El Niño,” he added.
He said in a Presidential Communications Office report that the government is focusing on areas not irrigated to boost agricultural production, despite the drought. “Hindi naman pwedeng shotgun lang, one size fits all no. So, we look at each area and see what is it that they need. So, that’s what we are, that’s the way we are handling local state of calamity that the local governments are declaring.”
In Negros Occidental, the municipal government of San Enrique declared a state of calamity last week due to drought damage. | CGC
