8 LGUs declare state of calamity, 5 others await approval

CEBU CITY, Philippines — At least eight local government units in Cebu province have now declared a state of calamity due to the effect of the weak El Niño in their localities.

Another five towns await council approval for the declaration.

Among the LGUs that have declared a state of calamity are the municipalities of Tudela, Dumanjug, Ginatilan, Samboan, Sogod, Minglanilla and the cities of Carcar and Toledo. 

Talisay City, as well as the municipalities of Sta. Fe, Asturias, Pilar and Compostela are also set to declare a state of calamity during their respective council sessions this week.

Elviena Subang, information section head of PDRRMO, said they still await for other LGUs to submit their updated assessment on the effect of El Niño in their towns especially on crops, livestock, water, health, and marine agriculture.

PDRRMO earlier set noontime of April 10 as the deadline for the submission of the weekly assessment of the local DRRM offices of every town. But as of press time, Subang said only the local DRRM officers of Pilar and Dumanjug have tendered their updated report.

PDRRMO Information Officer Julius Regner earlier said they needed the new assessment of the towns in order to focus their response programs to LGUs that are more severely affected by the dry season.

The agency earlier pegged the damage estimate of the drought in the province at P100 million.

Read more: Province to purchase P29M worth of response items for El Niño-affected areas

The PDRRM Office, along with the Provincial Agriculture and Provincial Veterinary offices, is now set to purchase at least P29 million worth of response items for the affected communities, which include rice and canned goods for the food for work program, water storage materials and fertilizers for farmers organizations, and vitamins and food supplements to save remaining livestocks who may be suffer from diseases due to the heat. /bmjo