RAMON, ISABELA?Water level at the Magat Dam dropped further below minimum to 156.15 meters, prompting operators of the hydroelectric plant there to keep its turbines running at least capacity and shorter period of time on Wednesday.
Saturnino Tenedor, who supervises the dam reservoir, said the ebbing water was a consequence of the two-month long drought and the unsuccessful cloud-seeding operations over watersheds.
SN-Aboitiz Power Corp., which operates the facility, ?is trying to operate minimally even at this level for as long as [the National Irrigation Administration requires irrigation water],? said lawyer Michael Hosillos, its vice president for external affairs.
?We will continue operating at a reduced level, in proportion to the water elevation, to generate power,? he said.
Isabela is already reeling from P3.2 billion in damage to farm crops and massive fishkills.
Out of 136,999 hectares of rice farms in the province, 63,668 hectares (94,505 metric tons of palay) have been destroyed by the dry spell, said Danilo Tumamao, provincial agriculturist. He gave the assessment this week during a meeting with the Provincial Disaster Coordinating Council.
Tomamao said 42,446 rice farmers in 29 towns lost P1.37 million worth of palay.
He said 92,859 of 129,510 has of corn farms were destroyed, costing farmers P1.9 million in production losses.
President Macapagal-Arroyo has earmarked P60 million for emergency repairs of irrigation facilities in Isabela and Nueva Ecija.
She also suspended irrigation service fees and restructuring loans, which are collected by government banks.
Aside from Isabela, the dry spell has affected at least 13 other provinces throughout the country. Negros Oriental has so far been spared because of its forest cover.
Provincial Agriculturist Gregorio P. Paltinca said he had not received any report of crop damage resulting from the drought and that the province was not yet threatened by any impending scarcity of farm products.
Negros Oriental has around 28,000 hectares of natural forests and 16,000 has of manmade forests, comprising roughly 8 percent of its total land area of 540,000 has, according to its provincial environment and natural resources officer.
The forests are found in the cities of Canlaon and Guihulngan and the towns of Ayungon and Tayasan and Mt. Talinis, which are straddling the mountains of Dauin, Valencia, Sibulan and Pamplona towns, Charlie Fabre, community environment and natural resources officer and coordinator of the reforestation projects in the province since the late 1980s, said the forested areas had yet to experience the brunt of the dry spell.
In fact, the southern part of the province still has healthy young corn plants, Paltinca said.
Provincial veterinarian Antonio Mutia also said cattle and other livestock animals still had enough food to eat. He said his office had been distributing vaccines to the localities to protect animals from diseases.
