STATE OF CALAMITY
By Anton Antonio
September 16, 2015
In an article titled “El Niño”, which I published last September
3, 2015, I wrote: “The El Niño phenomenon happening in the last quarter of this
year and extends up to the first quarter of next year is a real worrisome
problem (if it comes to pass). The most
likely impact will be on (a) potable water availability. (b) health issues
because of the extreme hot weather conditions, and (c) agricultural
productivity and consequently on food security… although there will be other
peripheral potential problems. We, as a
people, together with government should (this early) start preparing for this
year’s El Niño.” On the same day Inquirer.net
also published this news item:
“BATANES UNDER STATE OF CALAMITY DUE TO DRY SPELL…
BASCO, Batanes --- This northernmost island-province in the
country, known to be perennially hit by typhoons, is experiencing a prolonged
dry spell, prompting its officials to declare the province under a state of
calamity on Tuesday. Gov. Vicente Gato,
in a letter, asked the provincial board to declare Batanes under a state of
calamity, citing a report from the provincial agriculture office that showed
the province losing P10 million worth of crops and livestock due to the absence
of strong rain. “The prolonged dry spell
throughout the province (in) the last month has significantly affected
productivity at the farm level since vegetables require a considerable amount
of rainfall for optimum yield,” said Cesar Hostallero, officer-in-charge of the
provincial agriculture office, in a report.
Local agriculture officials said Typhoon “Ineng” (international name:
Goni), which hit the province last month, also damaged crops and utilities in
the province. The typhoon was
accompanied by strong wind that generated sea spray which damaged farmlands,
they said. Declaring the province under
a state of calamity, officials said, would also help the provincial government
use its calamity fund to repair the local water and electricity distribution
systems damaged by the recent typhoon. A
certification from Constantino Gavilan, chief meteorological officer of the
Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration
(Pagasa) here, showed that the highest recorded amount of rainfall in the
province was 138.5 millimeters on May 10.
It said rainfall volume in the following months fell to 27 mm and
below. In a telephone interview on
Thursday, Celso Batallones, manager of the Department of Agriculture’s Batanes
experiment station, said initial assessment by the province’s agriculture field
personnel showed a bleak scenario for agriculture. “In the past months, our farmers’ crops were
barely trying to survive the effects of El Niño, but when Typhoon “Ineng” hit,
all that remained was wiped out,” he said.
Now that farmers have just started to replant their crops, which include
garlic, sweet potato, corn, rice and vegetables, drought has crept back and is
threatening to wipe these out, Batallones said.
“If little or no rainfall will be felt in the province within this
planting season, which lasts until this month, then that could be it for our
farmers – no harvest for this season,” he said.
Arthur Tabig, 38, a farmer in Mahatao town, said all his crops were
damaged due to drought and the recent typhoon.
Tabig said farmers like him were hoping that the provincial government
will help them recover by providing them seedlings. Evelyn Maduro, a local caterer, said
vegetables sold in the province are expensive because these are shipped from
Tuguegarao City in Cagayan. She said she
recently bought two pieces of eggplant for P60.
Lorenzo Caranguian, DA regional director for Cagayan Valley, said the
provincial boards of Isabela and Quirino had earlier declared a state of
calamity in these provinces due to the dry spell’s impact on corn farms. “The report we got is that in Isabela, most
of those affected were the coastal towns,” Caranguian said. In an Aug. 11 report, Lucrecio Alviar, DA
regional director in Cagayan Valley, said Isabela reported about P706,000 worth
of damage to corn crops in 129,000 hectares (ha) of farmland there. Quirino, on the other hand, lost about
P119,000 of corn crops in 61,000 ha. The
DA regional office has requested P221,000 from the DA national office as
rehabilitation assistance to farmers affected by drought in Isabela and
Quirino. --- Juliet Cataluña and Melvin Gascon, Inquirer Northern Luzon
Global warming is already upon us. Throw-in El Niño and we have the perfect
combination of elements to a disaster.
Declaring a state of calamity in the Batanes island group is a good
wake-up call for all of us. The Batanes
situation could very well be a microcosm (meaning: a community, place, or
situation regarded as encapsulating in miniature the characteristic qualities
or features of something much larger) of the larger dire situation in our
country. Unless concrete steps are taken
to conserve our water resources now and in the last quarter of this year and
the first quarter of next year, the entire Philippines will be in a state of
calamity.
Thoughts to
promote positive action…
(Please
visit, like and share Pro EARTH Crusaders on Facebook or follow me at http://antonantonio.blogspot.com/
and http://twitter.com/EarthCrusader/)
REFERENCES:
Antonio, A. C. (2015). “El Niño”. Retrieved on September 16, 2015 from http://antonantonio.blogspot.com/2015/09/el-nino.html
Inquirer.net, (2015). “Batanes Under State of Calamity Due
to Dry Spell”. Retrieved on September
16, 2015 from http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/719055/batanes-under-state-of-calamity-due-to-dry-spell
Inquirer.net, (2015). “Batanes Under State of Calamity Due
to Dry Spell”. Retrieved on September
16, 2015 from http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/719749/batanes-under-state-of-calamity-due-to-dry-spell-2
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