President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. urged the public and local government units (LGUs) to conserve water and power as the country braces for the El Niño phenomenon this year.
In a YouTube post, the President said power demand far exceeds supply, and the 35 percent decrease in rainfall has already affected several dams, irrigation systems and hydroelectric plants.
“The DILG (Department of the Interior and Local Government) was instructed to present to the LGU’s our campaign to mitigate the impact of El Niño such as saving water at home, in car washes, in watering the golf course and refilling swimming pools” the President said.
“This is expected to help maintain our supply,” he said. “We all have something to help, we all have something to do.”
The government has been supporting projects that help generate or store more power for the Philippines, Marcos said, citing the tapping of more renewable energy sources.
“Last time we extended the Malampaya service,” he said.
“We also support new technologies such as battery storage to make our renewable sources of energy more sustainable and reliable,” he added.
Aside from monitoring and mitigating the effects of the El Niño in the agriculture, energy and health sectors, the government has also begun preparing for a possible La Niña after the dry spell, the President said.
“Despite the severe drought, we are also preparing for La Niña or severe rainy season which also brings other problems,” he said.
“This requires the participation of every one of our fellow Filipinos,” he said.
Mr. Marcos, during the inauguration of the 160MW wind farm in Pagudpud, Ilocos Norte, emphasized the need to tap renewable energy to meet the power needs of the industrializing economy.
Meanwhile, Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno said he is not expecting a surge in food prices in the coming months because a weak to moderate El Niño phenomenon will not significantly affect the agricultural sector.
Diokno said among the proposed short-term measures to mitigate food inflation is strengthening the implementation of biosecurity and hog re-population programs through continuous monitoring of the African swine fever and implementation of the Integrated National Swine Production Initiatives for Recovery and Expansion or INSPIRE.
In the medium-term, Diokno said the solution to food inflation is to boost productivity and resiliency of the agricultural sector. This can be done by promoting private investment in facilities, transport, and logistics systems to bring safe and nutritious food closer to consumers.
“In preparation for El Niño, NEDA [National Economic and Development Authority] presented the latest forecasts, potential impacts, as well as proposed activities to cushion its effects, especially on food security,” he said.
“A weak to moderate El Niño is projected until the first quarter of 2024. Because of this, we do not expect a significant reduction in local production – especially for rice and corn. As a result, we do not foresee a surge in food prices,” Diokno said.
Inflation reached a 14-year high of 8.7 percent in January 2023, before easing to 8.6 percent in February, 7.6 percent in March, and 6.6 percent in April. The slowdown in the annual increases in consumer prices prompted the monetary authorities to keep the 6.25 percent policy rate last Thursday.
Diokno said the transition to El Niño is expected in the next months, with over 90 percent chance of persisting up to the first quarter of 2024. However, he said most models showed that the El Niño will be weak to moderate.
The latest forecast indicates that most parts of the country will likely receive below normal rainfall in October 2023. Forecasts further show that an enhanced Southwest Monsoon is highly likely, especially July to August. Meanwhile, some areas in Visayas and Mindanao could experience the early impact of dry conditions.
Agriculture is one of the main sectors that could be severely affected by the El Niño phenomenon. Rice and corn account for the bulk of production losses due to El Niño.
Initial estimates show that local rice production this year may slightly decline by around 1.8 percent while yellow corn will be lowered by 1 percent due to El Niño. There is also a minimal reduction in white corn production.
Production of onion and garlic are expected to remain unchanged since they are typically grown in the first half of the year. There is also a negligible impact on pork and chicken production.
El Niño is beneficial for fishing but disadvantageous for aquaculture.
Activities to mitigate the impact of El Niño include the retooling and strengthening of the Disaster Task Force; weekly monitoring and updating of local field conditions; information, education and communication; adjustment in the planting calendar during the wet season to avoid typhoons (target June planting, balanced fertilization), and promote early planting for the dry season in water-deficit areas.
For vulnerable areas, strategies to save production include appropriate water management and other related interventions, such as cloud seeding operations; shifting to high-value crops with lower water requirements; provision of pumps and engine sets; and the provision of short gestation or drought-tolerant seed varieties, planting materials, fertilizers, and pesticides and herbicides.
Also over the weekend, the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) said it received an unsolicited proposal for the development of a potential new water source for Luzon and Metro Manila.
MWSS Deputy Administrator Jose Dorado Jr. said th unsolicited proposal, called the Kanan-Agos project, is being reviewed by the National Economic and Development Authority.