PBBM wants El Nino defense in place
President Marcos on Wednesday said he has ordered the concerned government agencies to complete water-related projects by April 2024 in preparation for the impact of the El Niño phenomenon.
During the inauguration of the Balbalungao Small Reservoir Irrigation Project (BSRIP) in Lupao, Nueva Ecija, Mr. Marcos noted the urgency to make sure the country is ready for the possible effects of El Niño, including reduced rainfall and drought.
“We must be prepared to counter these effects, which may last until the second quarter of 2024. So, we remind once again the DA (Department of Agriculture) and the NIA (National Irrigation Administration) to immediately complete the construction of irrigation facilities, as well as other supporting structures based on the needs of our farmers,” Mr. Marcos said.
“I set a deadline for our departments, encouraging them to consider what can be accomplished by April of next year. This way, by May, if the dry spell persists and there is still no rain, we will have sufficient water supply in place,” the President said in Filipino.
Vital projects, such as the BSRIP, will help address the effects of El Niño, which may cause a shortage of water and power supply, he said.
The BSRIP, boasting an expansive 840-hectare service area, is designed to foster sustainable development for the benefit of 562 farmers and their families residing in Balbalungao, San Isidro, Salvacion, Sto. Niño, and Mapampang villages in Lupao town.
Mr. Marcos said the construction of the Balbalungao Dam signifies his administration’s commitment to developing modern infrastructure systems that would enhance the agriculture sector.
“Once fully operational, this multi-purpose dam will provide irrigation for close to 1,000 hectares of agricultural land,” he said.
“The dam will generate diversified income opportunities to increase crop use, fish culture, tourism, and watershed management for environmental protection.”
Mr. Marcos also emphasized that the BSRIP would facilitate hydroelectric power generation and serve to control and mitigate flooding for communities along the river.
He also ordered the DA and the NIA to ensure the timely completion of the other facilities of the BSRIP, such as the hydropower and watershed components.
He enjoined all government agencies, local government units, and the private sector to work together to secure the sustainability of water resources and the ecosystem that surround the reservoir.
“That integrated watershed management plan serves as your guide in monitoring, protecting, and conserving the Balbalungao watershed to prolong the land’s service lifestyle,” Mr. Marcos said.
The government, he said, aims to establish more than 275,000 hectares of new irrigation areas to restore about 80,000 of existing irrigation areas by 2028.
At the same time, the President said the El Niño Task Force has been reorganized, as part of the extensive efforts to ensure food, water, and power security amid the weather phenomenon.
“I have created under the Office of the President a Task Force El Niño. There already exists one but we will change its structure,” Mr. Marcos said.
“I think [of] a more serious and a more extensive effort because we really have to get everybody involved to be able to prepare, to make sure we can minimize, alleviate, and adapt to climate change,” he said.
The El Niño Task Force was reconstituted in May this year, in response to Marcos’ call for a “whole-of-government” and “whole-of-nation” approach to prepare for the possible impact of El Niño.
Mr. Marcos said the country may adopt new techniques to ensure water and power security amid the El Niño phenomenon.
“We have to be very logical and rational [in] the way we distribute the water, to be able to determine which areas really need the water most,” he said. “As we all know, when the water levels in our dams go down, then energy becomes a scarce resource. We have to be more efficient in the distribution of whatever power that we generate.”
Around 65 provinces are expected to experience drought, while six provinces may experience a dry spell by the end of May because of a “strong” El Niño, Science and Technology Secretary Renato Solidum said in a Palace briefing on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, the House of Representatives has approved a bill creating an entire agency to address all water-related problems.
Voting 254 to 3, congressmen approved on the third and final reading House Bill (HB) 9663 or the (National Water Resources Act), which creates the Department of Water Resources to establish a framework for national water resource management.
“Preserving water is a priority of the administration… We need to manage our water resources properly,” Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez said of the measure, which Mr. Marcos mentioned in his July 25 State of the Nation Address (SONA) this year, and listed as a priority under the Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council (LEDAC).
The proposed department would be the primary agency responsible for the thorough and unified identification and mapping of all water resources and planning, policy creation, and management.
Romualdez said creating the DWR will help address urban flooding by providing a framework for storm-water and drainage services.
The measure also seeks to establish the National Water Resource Allocation Board.
Albay Rep. Joey Salceda, chairman of the House ways and means committee and one of the authors of the bill, said it unifies policy-making, planning, and management for water and septage under a single department.
“The DWR Secretary is given the functions of presidential adviser on all water-related issues,” he said.
“The measure also unifies regulatory, rate-setting, and licensing functions under the Water Regulatory Commission, a quasi-judicial body similar to the Energy Regulatory Commission. It also fills in policy gaps, including water regulation in provincial areas,” he added.
Salceda underscored the need for a water-focused agency to solve an institutional “decades-old problem of treating water resources as a peripheral and dispersed concern for government.”
“It’s not just another new agency. The recurring water crisis calls for creating a department that will complete the circle regarding water management and enshrine the doctrine and policy that the state owns water. Its management is a state duty,” he said.
The principal authors of the bill include Romualdez and Reps. Yedda K. Romualdez, Manuel Jose Dalipe, Ferdinand Alexander Marcos, and Jude Acidre.
Also on Wednesday, National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Secretary Arsenio Balisacan brushed off the potential negative impact on the economy of the El Niño phenomenon next year but admitted that commodity prices may rise.
“With respect to growth, the effect on the economy, I don’t think it will make a big [impact]…it will make an impact, but the challenge will be more on the prices,” Balisacan said at a press conference in Pasig City.
“The big difference between 1997-1998 and now is that the relative share of agriculture in the economy is now much smaller. It’s something like 10 percent of the economy,” Balisacan said.