Padilla seeks probe into effectiveness of El Niño information drive

LOST SEASON Severe heat due to El Niño has dried up farms, such as in Imus, Cavite, in this photo taken on March 2, 2024. The government expects the dry spell to linger as El Niño transitions to La Niña by June. (Picture from RICHARD A. REYES)

MANILA, Philippines — A resolution pushing for an inquiry into the effectiveness of the country’s information and awareness campaign on the impacts of El Niño has been filed in the Senate.

READ: El Niño preps: Why only now?

In his Senate Resolution No. 987, Senator Robin Padilla emphasized the “crucial role” of access to information to facilitate the allocation of resources, as well as effective coordination and collaboration, in times of crises.

“Filipinos must be informed of up-to-date and necessary preparations and responses of the national and local government, as the country has been taking the brunt of dangerous levels of heat index, mainly attributed to the El Niño phenomenon,” the senator’s measure reads.

Padilla, who heads the Senate panel on public information and mass media, likewise cited data from the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa), stressing that El Nino has already triggered drought in at least 37 areas.

Another example that Padilla noted was that more than 3,000 farmers and fisherfolk in Negros Occidental have been affected by drought.

READ: Pagasa: Summer is officially here

These reasons prompted the senator to reiterate that conducting an awareness campaign is “necessary to ensure that the public is well-equipped” with the “necessary knowledge” to venture on precautionary measures to prevent the effects of El Niño.

Pagasa on March 22 announced the onset of “tag-init” (summer) in the country, warning that this could be “one of the warmest” dry seasons ever recorded in the Philippines due to El Niño.