Gov’t gears up vs El Niño

The National Economic and Development Authority on Tuesday assured the public that the government will continue to assist the most vulnerable sectors as El Niño is expected to occur in the coming months and until the first quarter of 2024.

NEDA Undersecretary Rosemarie Edillon said in a Palace briefing that the government is already taking steps to mitigate the impact of El Niño which include providing production support to provinces that are less likely to be affected by the dry spell.

"In December, there will still be a number of provinces that will be less likely to be hit by El Niño. And so, in the briefing this morning — that was actually the instruction of the President — to make sure that we target the production support to these provinces," Edillon said.

The NEDA official also said that the government is working to ensure that the most vulnerable sectors of society are protected and provided assistance, especially while food prices remain high.

"It is important to ensure that the most vulnerable sectors of the society are protected and provided assistance especially while food prices remain high amid the expected El Niño," Edillon said.

In response to a question about the specific amount of support that the government plans to allocate for the provinces that might not be significantly affected by El Niño, Edillon said that the government does not have an exact figure yet.

However, she said that the President has issued a directive to the Department of Agriculture to address this promptly.

"The President has issued a directive to our new DA Secretary (Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr.), and he has committed to addressing this promptly," Edillon said, as she clarified that the assistance to be provided to those who will be affected by El Niño is part of the ongoing subsidy program of the government.

She added that the government is focusing on ongoing programs because it anticipates the severe El Niño to occur in January and February.

"We are addressing that first. But as I mentioned, even at this early stage, we are preparing to ensure that the worst-case scenario does not materialize. While El Niño may occur, we want to ensure that there will still be food available. That's our primary goal, and that's why we are preparing ahead of time," Edillon said.

When asked about the form of assistance that will be provided, Edillon said that it could be in the form of cash assistance or similar to what the government did in the past during El Niño, when farmers couldn't plant their crops.

Edillon also stressed that the government is committed to ensuring that the country is prepared for the impact of El Niño as she urged the public to cooperate with the government's efforts to mitigate the impact of the dry spell.