By Dean Aubrey Caratiquet
“Hindi po kinakailangang mag-panic, kailangan lang po ng tamang pag-prepara.”
This sentence encapsulates the messaging that the government wants to extend to its citizens, after receiving reports of some Filipinos beginning to hoard bottled water in reaction to the super El Niño phenomenon that they heard about in the news.
In a briefing on Thursday, Presidential Communications Office (PCO) Undersecretary and Palace Press Officer Claire Castro warned that hoarding potable water may lead to artificial supply shortages and drive up prices of the essential liquid commodity.
Instead of panic-buying, Usec. Castro advised Filipinos to do their part in water conservation efforts by sharing tips such as fixing leaking faucets or water pipes in their respective households, thus ensuring that no drop goes to waste.
“Ang kailangan po ng mga kababayan natin ay magprepara, maging ready po. Kung ano man po ang mangyayari kailangan pa rin natin paghandaan.”
Meanwhile, she pivoted the focus to the government’s El Niño Task Force, which continues to be hard at work in ensuring that various sectors are protected from the effects of this severe weather phenomenon.
Concerned agencies such as the Department of Agriculture (D.A.), National Irrigation Administration (NIA), Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), and the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) are already in active coordination with the Climate Change Commission to ensure a coordinated response to super El Niño.
Usec. Castro went on to share that P6.2 billion is set to be released to the D.A. for farmer and fisherfolk subsidies, along with P39.82 billion in the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Fund under the 2026 General Appropriations Act.
With the phenomenon set to last until the first quarter of 2027, the proposed budgets for certain items in next year’s budget are as follows:
- P45.67 billion for the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Fund
- P46.35 billion for NIA (P30.47 billion allocated for irrigation restoration and development)
- P11.18 billion for NFA rice buffer stocking
- P9.88 billion Quick Response Fund for frontline agencies
- P4.5 billion for crop insurance
The Malacañang official addressed Filipinos, “Kung nakaraan ay nakalagpas tayo, nalampasan natin at hindi naman tayo natakot na hindi tayo makakainom ng tubig sa araw-araw, ganun din po ang dapat nila isipin.”
jpv
