Region 6 scrambles to contain damage from dry spell

BACOLOD CITY — Local governments in Western Visayas have moved to help their farmers cope with the impact of the dry spell, as reports of crop damage continued to trickle in. In Bacolod City, Mayor Evelio R. Leonardia issued an executive order last week forming the Bacolod City El Niño Task Force, which will roll out measures to help residents cope with the calamity. In Iloilo, Gov. Niel Tupas, Sr. ordered provincial officials to prepare an emergency relief plan to help Ilonggo farmers who could lose more than half-a-billion pesos in crop damage. "We have to act quickly to help farmers recover from their losses and prevent the onset of hunger in drought-stricken areas of the province," Iloilo provincial administrator Manuel P. Mejorada said. Mejorada said Tupas had been alarmed upon knowing that 31,000 hectares of rice lands in 32 municipalities had incurred damage. "Governor Tupas is seriously thinking about asking the Sangguniang Panlalawigan (Provincial Council) to declare a state of calamity in these areas to soften the impact of El Niño," Mejorada said. This will allow the provincial government to spend part of its 5-percent calamity funds for relief and rehabilitation activities, he said. A report by the Agriculture department in Western Visayas showed that the dry spell had damaged crops worth more than half-a-billion pesos from December last year to January in the provinces of Antique, Guimaras and Iloilo. More than 22,000 hectares in Iloilo have been severely affected by the dry spell, with damage cost estimated at P518.4 million. In Guimaras, the affected land area is 393.57 hectares, with damage estimated at P3.2 million. A total of 339.61 hectares of rice lands were affected in Antique, resulting in damage worth P8.8 million. Remelyn R. Recoter, Agriculture regional technical director, said about 26,000 farmers had been affected by the dry spell in the last two months. In Iloilo City, Mayor Jerry P. Treñas said the city faces an outbreak of diseases due to dwindling supply of clean, potable water. The Metro Iloilo Water District (MIWD) has started rationing water supply in the city and six neighboring towns. MIWD General Manager Le Jayme Jalbuena said the dry spell had reduced water production from the Tigum River and deep wells. The utility draws water from Tigum River through a dam in the village of Daja in Maasin town, 29.5 km northwest of Iloilo City. It also obtains water from deep wells in Oton and San Miguel. Jalbuena said they supply an average of 28,000 to 30,000 cubic meters daily. On February 15, supply slid by at least a quarter to 21,000 cubic meters. "More residents would succumb to environmental injuries such as heat stroke and dehydration if the water crisis continues," Treñas said. He said they were planning to deploy tankers that will deliver potable water to areas of the city that are not covered by MIWD services. The city government is also planning to build shallow tube wells in selected villages to augment water supply. The Office of the Provincial Agriculturist in Negros Occidental, in a report to the governor, placed the drought damage as of Monday last week at P7.615 million in seven towns and cities in Negros Occidental. The worst hit by the drought were 115.28 hectares of rain-fed rice in Hinigaran valued at P3.163 million; followed by Murcia with P1.478 million in rice and corn damage. The dry spell has also killed pigs, chickens, cows and carabaos and destroyed pasture lands in Negros Occidental, causing P1.24 million in damage so far, Negros Occidental provincial veterinarian Renante Decena said. — Chrysee G. Samillano in Bacolod and Francis Allan L. Angelo in Iloilo, BusinessWorld