Atin Ito First Filipino Community Newspaper in Ontario
THE Office of Civil Defense (OCD) is set to convene the National El Niño Team to ensure harmonized implementation of efforts to address the possible impacts of the El Niño phenomenon.
The National El Niño Team will be convened on July 19 in Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City during a meeting to be presided over by Undersecretary Ariel Nepomuceno, Civil Defense administrator and National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) executive director.
During the meeting, the ongoing activities of the government agencies for El Niño will be discussed.
Among the discussion points are the presentation of the short-, medium- and long-term plans of the various team clusters to address the effects of El Niño on food security, water security, energy security, health, public safety and cross-cutting issues.
The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) will also be providing an updated forecast of the climate phenomenon, as well as the status of the various dams in the country.
Nepomuceno said they are looking forward to the finalization of the National Action Plan for El Niño by the National El Niño Team, as the OCD continues to undertake various activities specific to the agency’s mandates to ensure that the effects of the El Niño-induced dry spells and drought to the country can be countered.
Pagasa has declared the start of the El Niño phenomenon on July 4. It also forecast its possible movement from a “moderate” to “severe” by the latter part of 2023.
The National El Niño Team regularly convenes for updates on the actions taken by agencies following President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s instructions for a science-based, whole-of-nation strategy to prepare the country for the adverse effects of the climate phenomenon.
Legarda chimes in
Senate President Pro Tempore Lorna Regina “Loren” Legarda also underscored support for programs dedicated to attaining disaster resilience.
Legarda, a United Nations Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) Global Champion for Resilience, said there must be proactive ways to help the country withstand the effects of calamities battering the country annually.
“The Philippines is constantly hit by endless natural disasters every year, so we must be able to face any possible danger head-on,” she said.
“Since we have identified most of the causes of damage to property and lives, the state and the citizens must work together to mitigate them by preparing ourselves, starting with simple things such as waste segregation and heeding disaster warnings,” she added.
The Philippines is one of the most disaster-prone nations on earth, where various natural calamities such as typhoons, earthquakes and volcanic activities affect millions yearly.
Situated along the Pacific Ring of Fire, seismic and volcanic activity occurs more often here than in the rest of the world, usually to a more dangerous degree, putting millions of lives at risk.
“I call on local government units to seriously consider ways to conserve the water supply. We cannot expose ourselves to the risk of seeing it dry up completely — it will be catastrophic,” warned Legarda, who also welcomed the administration’s move to release an El Niño mitigation plan to help the country brace for its adverse effects.
The President announced Monday that the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), Department of Agriculture (DA), and National Irrigation Administration (NIA) have joined forces to boost mitigation efforts for the coming of El Niño. Legarda welcomed this development.
“Let us also look at building standards and determine if structures can withstand tremors and various waterways to see if they are clear from debris that might cause overflow and flooding in low-lying areas,” Legarda said.
“Lastly, we must be able to ensure that our people are capable enough in fending off disaster themselves by empowering them and could live comfortably without the danger of their surroundings,” she added. — Franco Jose C. Baroña and Javier Joe Ismael
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