Vice President Sara Duterte on Monday, October 12, said the Office of the Vice President (OVP) will conduct an information campaign to educate Filipinos on the effects of the looming El Niño phenomenon, while criticizing President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. over his proposed preparations for the anticipated dry spell.
“Wala na tayong maasahan sa Pangulo. So hindi na ako magko-comment diyan sa balde-balde niya,” Duterte said during the OVP’s 91st anniversary kick-off celebration.
Instead of commenting further on Marcos’ call for Filipinos to prepare buckets to collect rainwater, Duterte said the OVP would focus on providing the public with practical and easy-to-understand information about El Niño and its possible effects on daily life.
She said the campaign would explain how the phenomenon could affect communities, food supplies, commodity prices and public health, as well as what individuals and families could do to prepare.
Duterte cited farmers as among those who could be significantly affected by drought, emphasizing the need to educate them on ways to protect their crops and maintain agricultural production amid prolonged dry conditions.
The OVP also plans to provide guidance for households on measures they can take to lessen El Niño’s impact and for individuals to understand the potential risks to their health.
“Mas lalo naming gagawin na mas ordinaryo at simple yung paliwanag sa El Niño,” she said.
Marcos earlier urged Filipinos to prepare containers for rainwater collection as the government considers measures to address the possible effects of Super El Niño, including water filtration and treatment assistance and cloud-seeding operations.
The President also pushed for the revival of the Green Revolution campaign, encouraging households to grow their own vegetables to help cushion the potential impact of dry conditions on agricultural production.
El Niño is a climate phenomenon associated with warmer-than-usual sea surface temperatures in the central and eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean. It can bring below-normal rainfall and prolonged dry conditions to parts of the Philippines, raising concerns over water availability and agricultural production.
