ILOILO – The provincial government has earmarked P61 million for a Quick Response Fund (QRF) to address the devastating effects of the El Niño phenomenon.
Cornelio Salinas, head of the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO), said the funds are designated for a comprehensive rehabilitation plan involving four key provincial government offices: the Provincial Agriculture Office (PAgrO), Provincial Veterinary Office (PVO), Provincial Health Office (PHO), and Provincial Government Environment and Natural Resources Office (PGENRO).
Each office is required to submit a detailed rehabilitation plan to the PDRRMC, outlining their respective strategies to mitigate the adverse effects of El Niño. PAgrO’s plan may focus on the agricultural sector and affected farmers, PVO may concentrate on poultry and livestock, PHO on public health, and PGENRO on water resources management.
“The rehabilitation plans from these four offices are the final pieces needed for the PDRRM Council to forward a resolution to the Sangguniang Panlalawigan (SP), recommending that the province be placed under a state of calamity,” Salinas explained.
Pending the submission of these plans, which is expected this week, the PDRRM Council will promptly attach them to the resolution to be submitted to the SP.
Salinas expressed optimism that the SP could swiftly review the documents and determine the distribution of the requested budget across the affected offices.
The approval of the resolution to officially declare a state of calamity could come as early as next week, during the SP’s regular session on May 14.
Currently, eight areas within the province have already declared a state of calamity, including Sara, Estancia, Passi City, Bingawan, Dingle, Balasan, Lemery, and San Dionisio. However, Salinas did not rule out the possibility of more towns declaring as the effects of El Niño are expected to persist until the end of May or possibly into the first week of June.
According to a report from PAgrO, El Niño has already caused an estimated P1,025,662,858.10 in damages across various sectors in the province. The breakdown is as follows:
* Rice – P653,105,869.47
* Corn – P219,192,304.59
* High-value crops – P136,606,261.04
* Fisheries – P16,561,871
* Livestock and Poultry – P196,552
Five towns with the highest damage report in rice are Barotac Nuevo (P144,116,136), Dumangas (P138,800,328), Anilao (P52,223,800), Banate (P43,710,172), and Cabatuan (P43,641,524).
On high-value crops, the towns with the biggest losses are Leon (P51,588,009), Dueñas (P28,687,107), Igbaras (P13,414,691), Alimodian (P12,889,250), and Barotac Nuevo (P10,250,900).
On the other hand, towns having the most damage to corn are Sara (P79,096,950), Barotac Viejo (P47,516,602), Batad (P29,536,650), San Dionisio (P20,724,660), and Balasan (P8,367,705).
In fisheries, the biggest losers are Dumangas (P6,078,880), Barotac Nuevo (P2,273,660), New Lucena (P893,220), Banate (P641,195), and Carles (P181,975)./PN
