The weak El Niño is starting to affect farmlands in Central Visayas, including some areas in Cebu City and Cebu province. | photo from Cebu.gov.ph
CEBU CITY, Philippines — A state of calamity was already declared in at least four local government units (LGUs) in Cebu province.
The legislative bodies of Carcar City in southern Cebu, Ginatilan town in the southwestern part of the island and Pilar town in Camotes Island have already placed their respective localities under state of calamity while Toledo City opted to adopt the province-wide declaration by the Cebu Provincial Board.
Read More: El Niño Phenomenon: Cebu province under state of calamity
PB Members approved en masse on Monday, March 25, a resolution that placed the entire province of Cebu under a state of calamity as a result of the mild El Niño.
The declaration allows the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office (PDRRMO) to allocate part of its quick response funds for emergency response efforts.
PDRRMO has already set aside up to P25 million of its P59 million QRF to especially aid farmers and countryside residents affected by the mild El Niño.
Rhee Telen Jr. of PDRRMO said they continue to monitor the ill effects of the El Niño especially on farmlands.
Telen said they aim to complete their validation of the affected areas through the local Disaster Risk Reduction Management officers of each of the affected towns and cities so that they can already start listing the supposed beneficiaries of their emergency response efforts. /dcb