Bracing for the return of El Nino, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. should lead in the upgrading of the RAIN or “Roadmap to Address the Impact of El Nino” so that the weather phenomenon will not seriously harm the country’s food, electricity and water supply, House Deputy Speaker Ralph Recto said.
RAIN was a comprehensive strategy paper drafted by NEDA which guided the whole-of-nation’s response during the 2015-2016 El Nino episode.
“Meron ng blueprint saganitong emergency. Kailangan lang ay to dust it off and brush it up, so it will be attuned to the unique characteristics of the 2023 version of El Nino,” Recto said.
Recto pointed out that “one big motivating factor” for the Presidentto commission an El Nino response strategy “is that the phenomenon will hit a sector which is under his jurisdiction – agriculture.
Recto also cited the so-called preexisting comorbidities in agriculture, that include combined fuel-fertilizer crisis, in which the foul weather should be avoided to come inin the list.
Water crisis will lead to scarcity in food and will negatively impacts livestock and poultry as high temperatures can cause heat stress on animals, Recto warned.
There have been seven severe El Nino events since 1980, with the last one lasting from 2015 to 2016, inflicting $327 million in agricultural losses, according to PAGASA.
The Aquino administration crafted RAIN, which focused on ensuring food security, health, energy security, safety on 67 impacted provinces and Metro Manila in an effort to address the 2015-2016 El Nino episode. (BENJIE J. MURILLO)
