Palace: P46 billlion aid ready for ‘Super El Niño’ ,

Bernard Alan Racoma, director of the Education Division of the UP Institute of Environmental Science and Meteorology points to the position of El Niño at the Project NOAH office in UP Diliman yesterday

STAR / File

MANILA, Philippines — The government has allocated more than P46 billion this year to respond to the impact of “Super El Niño,” Malacañang said yesterday, as it urged the public not to panic because efforts are underway to help sectors hit by the weather phenomenon.

Palace press officer Claire Castro said P6.2 billion is ready for release to the agriculture department to provide farmers and fisherfolk with fuel assistance, fertilizer and other farm inputs. The Marcos administration also set aside P39.82 billion to support disaster management efforts.

The Marcos administration is proposing to increase the NDRRM Fund to P45.67 billion in next year’s national budget. Of the amount, P14.67 billion is allocated for local government disaster rehabilitation and reconstruction.

The proposed budget for 2027 also contains P9.885 billion in Quick Response Funds for frontline agencies, with a mechanism for additional funding support from the NDRRM Fund when needed.

To enhance food-security buffers, the administration is seeking an P11.18 billion outlay for the National Food Authority’s rice buffer stocking next year. It is also proposing a P4.5-billion budget for crop insurance covering some 2.34 million small farmers and fisherfolk and P46.356-billion outlay for the National Irrigation Administration, including P30.437 billion for irrigation restoration and development.

The agriculture department has also proposed the expansion of the minimum access volume for corn to 500,000 metric tons as it braces for the possible impact of the El Niño on the supply of the staple.

Castro also advised the public not to panic, noting that the Philippines had managed to address the impact of the weather phenomenon.

No water interruption yet

Consumers may not experience water interruptions yet amid the looming “very strong” El Niño this month, the National Water Resource Board (NWRB) said.

In an interview with dzBB, NWRB executive director Sevillo David Jr. said the dams have replenished enough water so far with the rains brought by several tropical cyclones in August and the habagat.