‘Reactive, Not Pro-Active’ Govt. Warns 65 Provinces Threatened By Long El Niño Here we go, again!

For the umpteenth time, the National Government through the Dept. of Science and Technology has issued a warning that a long and strong drought called El Niño will hit the country until the end of 2024.
“According to Science and Technology Secretary Renato Solidum Jr., some of the effects of the El Nino are already being felt in some parts of the country,” the Philippine Daily Inquirer reported.
“The effects of El Nino are already felt and have been experienced in some areas in the country, and this is characterized by the reduction of rainfall up to 80%, which led to dry conditions or dry spells,” Solidum told the PDI.
“By the end of May, there would be 77% of the provinces of the country will have the potential for drought, that would be 65 provinces and seven per cent potential for dry spells or around six provinces,” he added.
But aside from issuing warnings every time a drought looms, the government has not really done any pro-active measure to mitigate the effects El Niño.
With this El Niño warning now, I expect the usual reaction from government of forming Task Force El Niño to plan calamity assistance, a program that will disappear when the drought ends.
As early as 2016, I had proposed the P50-B Solar Powered Irrigation Project to irrigate 500,000 hectares, especially during the El Niño because water generation equipment is powered by sunlight.
The National Water Management and Conservation Strategy was also proposed, both of which were discussed during the short drought which hit Metro Manila.
Pagkatapos ng drought, nakalimutan na naman.
My wish is that this administration will tackle this problem with a viable and long term solution.
We are flooded during the typhoon season but the water just flows to the sea and we have hundreds of big lakes and rivers which could be the source of water for Solar Irrigation.
All that we need is somebody who is willing to learn, unlearn and relearn.
#GovernanceIsCommonSense!