North Cotabato town placed under state of calamity due to dry spell

KIDAPAWAN CITY — At least 28 of the 37 villages in M’lang town of North Cotabato are experiencing dry spell prompting the Sangguniang Bayan to place the entire town under a state of calamity.

M’lang town Vice Mayor Joselito Piñol said the affected villages were mainly rainfed, while others were drawing water from the irrigation canal that had already dried up due to the severe temperature that started to be felt starting the last week of January.

Piñol also said that aside from the vast rice and corn fields that had wilted, some of the farm animals in far-flung villages were suffering from heat stroke.

“I already instructed the disaster officer to conduct validation to help our affected farmers,” Piñol said.

He added the declaration of a state of calamity would pave the way for the release of the town’s calamity fund, which would be about five percent of the town’s total Internal Revenue Allotment which could be used to assist farmers.

Bernardo Tayong, Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Officer (MDRRMO), said in a report to the Sanggunian Bayan that a total of 3,500 farmers had lost their crops during the first quarter.

He said a total of 4,250 hectares of rice and corn fields had parched, and the crops could no longer recover.

Tayong pegged the total damage for both rice and corn at P16 million.

M’lang’s remaining nine villages, which incurred less damage from the dry spell, had received assistance from the local government.

Piñol said they were giving fuel subsidy and water pumps to farmers whose crops still had a 70-percent chance of recovery.

“This could be a big help to farmers,” the vice mayor said.

He said aside from rice assistance to those who completely lost their crops to extreme weather, M’lang also planned to distribute aid to at least 10,000 displaced laborers.

All affected farmers validated by the MDRRMO and found to have lost their crops to dry spell would be given seedlings and fertilizer assistance, he said.

However, he said, these would be given only after the devastation. /lzb