Looc Mayor Marlon Dela Torre of Occidental Mindoro asked the government for rice assistance as farmers in his municipality continue to suffer damage and losses to crops due to the onslaught of El Niño.

In a radio interview on Monday, Dela Torre expressed distress as the majority of their crops of rice, vegetables, and corn can no longer be harvested as the weather phenomenon continues to dry their farmlands.

“Hindi na po [mamumunga], dahil halos ngayon po ay wala nang dumadaloy na tubig at unang-una yung aking mga farmers sa bayan ng Looc ay talagang problemado na at halos magtampuhan dahil nag-aagawan sila sa tubig. Kanya-kanya silang ligtas kung paano nila susuportahan yung kanilang mga pananim (It won't [bear fruit] anymore because there is almost no water flowing, and all my farmers in Looc are really in trouble and almost sulk because they are fighting for water. They each find ways in which they will support their crops.),” he said.

Dela Torre said that there is a weak supply of water from their river, adding that their town also has no impounding area.

“Hinihiling ko na sana maayos naman yung dam, especially yung mga canalitas papunta sa mga daloy ng sakahan, yun yung mga nasira. Yung tubig na bahagyang dumadaloy hindi na nakakarating sa aming palayan (I wish that the dam would be repaired, especially the canals leading to the farm streams; those are the ones that were damaged. The water that flows slightly does not reach our rice fields.)," he added.

Dela Torre then sought help from the government and national agencies on urgently fixing their dams, citing that the water dams that supply water to their plantation are also damaged.

“Malakas ang tagas at ang aming canalitas from the source ng tubig sirang sira an (The leak is strong, and our canals from the water source are broken.),” he said.

He also asked for rice assistance, as their farmers' initial harvest from the first crop had already been exhausted.

“Nag-aalala po ako sa aking mga kababayan na ilang buwan silang magtitiis dahil wala na kaming mabiling bigas dito sa bayan ng Looc. Yun po ang nakakalungkot, kami ang producer [ng bigas], pero wala kaming makakain dahil sa epekto ng El Niño. Yun po ang aming kailangan, supply ng bigas (I am worried about my townsmen that they will have to endure for several months because we have no more rice to buy here in the town of Looc. That's the sad thing; we are the producer [of rice], but we have nothing to eat because of the effect of El Niño. That's what we need, a supply of rice).”

Meanwhile, Task Force El Niño spokesperson Joey Villarama said that Looc could receive aid once their local government unit submits a report declaring a state of calamity.

"Kukunin ng regional field office ng DA [Department of Agriculture], i-a-asses, ipo-forward yan sa central office tapos dun ita-task yung quick response fund (The regional field office of the DA [Department of Agriculture] will take it, assess it, forward it to the central office, and then task the quick response fund),” he said.

Villarama, however, noted that the quick response fund can only be used for the rehabilitation of farmlands.

"I understand si Mayor humihingi ng ayuda in terms of yung food nila, kaya dyan papasok yung Office of Civil Defense. Kaya ang lead agency talaga sa Task Force El Niño is DND [Department of National Defense], dahil tinitingnan po natin itong public safety, public security at emergency situations. Ang OCD ay makakapagbigay ng bigas sa mga apektadong farmers and their families (I understand the Mayor is asking for help in terms of their food, so that's where the Office of Civil Defense comes in. So the lead agency in Task Force El Niño is actually DND [Department of National Defense] because we are looking at public safety, public security, and emergency situations. OCD will be able to provide rice to the affected farmers and their families).”

El Niño logs P357-M worth of agri-damage

The DA reported Sunday that the Philippine agriculture sector has now suffered damage and losses amounting to more than P357 million.

Based on the agency’s latest assessment, the total value loss is estimated to amount to P357.38 million, affecting 7,668 farmers, with an output volume loss of 14,601 metric tons on 6,523 hit hectares of farmlands, of which 2,963 hectares, or 91.52 percent, have a chance of recovery and 328 hectares, or 8.48 percent, are unrecoverable.

Rice outputs incurred the biggest damage worth P284.27 million from the volume loss of 11,480 MT, affecting a total area of 5,011 hectares, of which 4,039 hectares, or 80.60 percent, have a chance of recovery.

The province of Iloilo had the biggest loss valued between P100 million and P200 million, followed by Oriental Mindoro, which suffered a loss valued between P50 and P100 million.

Meanwhile, Occidental Mindoro is among the provinces that suffered losses of less than P50 million.

For corn, 1,263 hectares of farmlands were said to be El Niño-affected areas, where 1,125 hectares, or 89.07 percent, have a chance of recovery. The corn volume loss is 2,897 MT, amounting to P60.70 million.

Occidental Mindoro registered the highest value loss of corn, ranging from P20 million to P30 million.

Lastly, 249 hectares planted with high-value crops were affected, with a 225 MT volume loss, totaling P12.41 million worth of damage, whereas Ilocos Norte and Occidental Mindoro had a value loss of less than P4 million.