The damage to agriculture brought by El Niño has reached P6.3 billion, according to Department of Agriculture (DA) Assistant Secretary and spokesperson Arnel De Mesa.
“The largest (damage) is still in the rice sector at P3.3 billion, followed by corn at P1.9 billion, and our high-value commercial crops at P1 billion,” De Mesa said during a Saturday news forum in Quezon City.
“If we look at our projection of losses due to El Niño, when PAGASA told us that there will be an El Niño, we estimated that around 120,000 hectares would be damaged. The latest report shows it’s around 60,000,” he added.
According to the DA, the most significant damage reported was in Region IV-B (Mimaropa), totaling P1.7 billion, followed by Region VI (Western Visayas) at P1.5 billion, and the Cordillera Administrative Region at nearly P800 million.
He added that the accumulated loss of 100,000 metric tons in rice crop production due to the drought has been significantly smaller compared to the damages caused by tropical storms, which range from 500,000 to 600,000 metric tons.
Senator Sherwin Gatchalian meanwhile urged local government units (LGUs) and community leaders to be vigilant in preventing fire incidents due to the El Niño phenomenon.
The senator made the call following relief operations he initiated in four areas in Metro Manila recently affected by fire incidents.
“We need to equip our people to be more vigilant so they can effectively protect their communities from fire incidents and prevent property loss and damage. The LGUs play a critical role in this campaign,” Gatchalian said.
He emphasized that there is no room for complacency, especially as the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) warned the public of the possibility of even hotter weather this month.
The senator distributed sacks of rice in Isla F. Manalo, Barangay Batis, San Juan, where 194 families lost their homes in a fire incident last April 16. He also distributed rice to 662 families in Barangay 105, Tondo, Manila affected by a fire last March 22, which razed about 140 houses.
In nearby Barangay 107, also in Tondo, Gatchalian distributed rice to about 66 families affected by another fire just 2 days after the fire in Barangay 105 on March 24.
Gatchalian’s team also conducted a separate relief operation in Barangay Elias Adarna in Las Piñas City, benefitting 200 families affected by a fire incident last March 5.
The Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) reported that there have been over 3,200 fires recorded nationwide this year, a 26 percent increase from the same period last year, resulting in 74 casualties. Of these, more than 600 fire incidents were recorded in Metro Manila.
Interior and Local Government Secretary Benjamin Abalos is also concerned about the rising number of fire incidents in the country and urges residents of Metro Manila to have their electrical lines inspected by BFP personnel.
BFP is planning to install a hotline number for residents of the National Capital Region, where they can call and request voluntary inspections of electrical connections in their homes to prevent fire incidents in their communities.
Most fire incidents happen due to faulty electrical lines, unattended gas lamps and cooking stoves, and overheating appliances. With Joel E. Zurbano
