ILOILO – The municipality of Bingawan declared a state of calamity yesterday as losses in its agriculture sector due to the dry spell surged to P53,172,976.
The Sangguniang Bayan (SB) of Bingawan held a special session on the request of Mayor Mark Palabrica to make such declaration so that the municipal government could use its P3.4-million calamity fund to help over 8,000 affected residents (2,015 farmers plus their dependents).
The fund, however, is not enough so the municipal government would be seeking more help from the provincial government and national government agencies, said Palabrica.
The P53.1-million losses covered rice (P47,947,976), corn (P1,719,300), livestock (P380,700), and fisheries (P3,000,125), according to the mayor.
The local government outlined eight mitigating measures. These were the following:
* on population – to extend immediate relief operations to affected farmers and their families by purchasing rice for their consumption; to supply potable water to affected households; and operation and improvement of water system
* on agriculture – purchase rice seeds and vegetable seeds to be distributed to affected farmers and all affected population; seminars and trainings on agriculture and provision of irrigation facilities and equipment
* on engineering – construction and rehabilitation of damaged small farm reservoirs; improvement of farm-to-market roads going to small farm reservoirs
* on health – purchase of influenza, hypertension and other medicines; availability of fuel and ambulance for emergencies
* on security – proactive implementation of security measures against burglary and other crimes due to the inadequacy of household and personal income
* on fire prevention – proactive implementation of fire prevention measures against too much heat
* activation of Disaster Risk Reduction Management Operations Center 24 hours / seven days a week
* information and dissemination campaign on the effects of El Niño
Rice farms adversely affected by the dry spell reached 1,356.5 hectares; corn farms, 20.25 hectares; and livestock, 2,538 heads./PN
