LCEs urged to prepare for El Niño phenomenon
LOCAL Government Secretary Benjamin “Benhur” Abalos Jr. called on all local chief executives (LCEs) to sustain mitigating efforts following an alert bulletin issued by the weather bureau about the El Niño phenomenon.
The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) released a forecast that the phenomenon may emerge in the next three months until the first quarter of 2024.
In a memorandum circular, Abalos urged local chiefs to enact ordinances curbing illegal connections and encourage prudent water usage and allow water concessionaires and water utilities to conduct emergency leak repairs.
The DILG chief also asked the Bureau of Fire Protection to refrain from unnecessarily drawing water from fire hydrants and limit the same only for purposes of putting out fires.
Also included in the mitigation efforts are the lifting of application of number coding schemes with respect to water tankers used by water concessionaires to immediately address water supply needs of affected customers.
The LGUs were also told to implement and update existing contingency plans related to El Niño; stockpiling of relief goods (food and non-food items) for immediate relief assistance, among others.
Abalos emphasized that these preparatory steps can alleviate the ill effects of the phenomenon in terms of agriculture, water resources, marine resources, human health, and environment, as a whole.
