Mindoro towns under state of calamity

The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council on Sunday disclosed that at least five town in Mindoro have declared a state of calamity following the onslaught of the El Niño phenomenon.

The NDRRMC said that two towns in Oriental Mindoro and three Occidental Mindoro were placed under state of calamity, while another town in Zamboanga del Sur also put up the declaration.

It disclosed that the municipalities declared to be under a state of calamity are Bulalacao (San Pedro) and Mansalay in Oriental Mindoro; Looc, Magsaysay, and San Jose in Occidental Mindoro; and Zamboanga City in Zamboanga del Sur.

The NDRRMC reported that the production loss of Oriental Mindoro due to El Niño now stands at P223,606,077.25, of which P148,424,500 is registered from Bulalacao.

From estimates, at least P126,230,400 worth of high-value crops were damaged, while rice damages worth P22,194,100 was logged.

Meanwhile, agriculture damage and losses to Occidental Mindoro are currently valued at P48,219,736. The area that incurred the highest production loss was Sablayan, where P27,422,107 worth of corn was damaged.

Assistance provided to the MIMAROPA region is now over P430 million.

However, the Department of Agriculture assured that the country’s supply of rice and food would be unlikely to be affected, as it noted that the affected areas were less than 1 percent of the total number of farmers who planted rice in 2023.