A farmer guides his carabao on dry and cracked farmland in San Juan town, Batangas, April 18, 2010. — REUTERS/ROMEO RANOCO

PRESIDENT Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. said on Monday that the government does not see the need to declare a state of calamity nationwide for El Niño, and expressed a preference for more focused local declarations.

Provinces are affected by the drought-causing weather to varying degrees, Mr. Marcos noted. 

“The problem is different in every area. It can’t be a shotgun, a one-size-fits-all approach,” he told reporters in Bacolod City, as quoted in a transcript provided by the Palace.

“So that’s the way we are handling the local states of calamity that the local governments have declared,” he added.

At least 18 cities and municipalities have declared states of calamity due to El Niño, which brings about dry spells and droughts, according to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council.

Agricultural damage caused by El Niño has risen to P2.63 billion, while the government has handed out assistance worth P1.1 billion, the Department of Agriculture has said. 

The number of El Niño-affected provinces could hit 80 by the end of April, with the dry spell’s effects possibly lasting until June, according to the government weather service.

El Niño has triggered class suspensions in many areas, especially in the Western Visayas, due to extreme heat. — Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR