ILOILO City – The Regional Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (RDRRMC) has established the Western Visayas Regional Task Group for El Niño that will draft and implement the Comprehensive and Integrated Action Plan (CIAP) to respond to the weather phenomenon.
Cindy Ferrer, spokesperson for the Office of the Civil Defense (OCD) Region 6, said the task group created during the second pre-disaster risk assessment (PDRA) meeting presided over by Regional Director Raul E. Fernandez on Monday, Oct. 9, was patterned after the structure set by the national DRRMC.
“This is to help the general public cope with the phenomenon and minimize the disastrous effects of the El Niño,” Ferred said.
The OCD and the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) serve as task group leaders.
It has six clusters: including food security, water security, energy security, health security, public safety, and social sector.
Among their tasks are to conduct a massive information drive to educate the public and provide needed information to reduce the expected adverse impact of the phenomenon; enlist the support of government agencies and other instrumentalities, including civil society organizations and private groups; identify funding sources to implement their activities; and regularly monitor the implementation of the plan, its timeliness and responsiveness.
The country is currently experiencing moderate El Niño, based on a Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) advisory on Oct. 5.
“Pagasa says Western Visayas is expected to experience strong El Niño by the first quarter of next year. The province of Guimaras is expected to experience the strong effect of the weather phenomenon,” Ferrer said.
So far, there are no reports on the impact of the moderate El Niño on agriculture, she added. (PNA)/PN
