The Water Resources Management Office (WRMO) will issue this week its recommendations to address the effects of the El Niño phenomenon in the country.
In a statement on Monday, the Presidential Communications Office (PCO) said President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. issued a directive to all government agencies, including the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), to come up with the said measures this week.
“We will have a plan for the mitigation of the effects of El Niño this week. I just spoke to the Secretary of DENR this morning and she has told me that she will be prepared to make public what needs to be done,” Marcos said during a meeting in Malacañang on government measures to mitigate the impact of the dry spell to the country.
“Presently, just to mitigate the effects of El Niño this coming – at least for this year, right now DENR, Public Works, DA (Department of Agriculture) especially NIA (National Irrigation Administration) are working together,” he added.
The WRMO, created under EO 22, is under the DENR.
Marcos said former Public Works and Highways secretary Rogelio Singson will help the government in coming up with a contingency plan for El Niño and in crafting an overall plan for the Philippines.
He added that the country has to convert its water usage from groundwater or wells and aquifers to transfer extraction to surface water.
“Because we have enough surface water. It’s just a question of protecting it. We are designing now a system of catchment basins not only for flood control. The original plan was only for flood control. But now, we have said we have to… that flood control always now includes irrigation and sometimes even power, if we can do it,” Marcos said.
For agriculture, Marcos said the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) has a design for existing dams to ensure continuous supply.
Marcos assured that while the country is yet to feel the effects of El Niño, the government is making sure that “we will be ready when that time comes.”
The President earlier said the government was relying on a newly created Office of Water Management to address the impact of El Niño. (PNA)
