The total number of areas declared under a state of calamity due to the onslaught of El Niño has already reached 127, according to Task Force El Niño on Tuesday.

According to the unit’s spokesperson Assistant Secretary Joel Villarama, the tallied total number was recorded after the entire province of South Cotabato was put under the said condition.

“The entire province of South Cotabato has declared a state of calamity. Now, we have seven entire provinces that have declared a state of calamity. If we count that in terms of cities and municipalities, a total of 127 municipalities or cities have declared a state of calamity as of yesterday,” he said in a radio interview.

Villarama explained that there are different grounds as to when a state of calamity should be declared, such as in cases of adverse damages to livelihood, primarily in agriculture, and the existence of water crises like what was experienced in the cities of Zamboanga and Cebu.

 “In the case of the majority who declared a state of calamity, the basis was the damage to agriculture. Their population is affected because most of them are farmers, and their livelihood is also affected. That was the basis for declaring a state of calamity,” he said.

The task force official further noted that the El Niño phenomenon experienced in the country at present is the strongest in terms of the heat index, “but in terms of agriculture, somehow [the impact] was reduced or alleviated” due to government interventions.