Former senator, agri chief Angara: Gov’t ill-prepared for effects of El Niño

The government has failed to mitigate the effects of El Niño in the country, a former senator said Tuesday.

Despite warning from the state weather bureau, former senator Edgardo Angara said the government has not done enough to prepare for the effects of El Niño on farmers.

“I don’t think the government has done enough to mitigate the effects of El Niño,” Angara told reporters during a forum at the Kamuning Bakery in Quezon City.

The former agriculture secretary issued the statement after three farmers died during a bloody rally dispersal in Kidapawan City.

The protesting peasants held a rally at the Kidapawan highway to demand from the government aid and food assistance after their farms were hit by drought.

“The Kidapawan incident highlights the need to prioritize food and water in the country,” Angara said.

He said the demands raised by the drought-stricken farmer “is an issue we have failed to address all these years.”

He said the Kidapawan incident was no different from the “Mendiola Massacre,” where the farmers’ issue was also about food and water.

To address the prolonged drought brought by El Niño, he said the government should have built the necessary rain water catchment.

“We could have done that,” he said, adding that they did the same in northern Luzon when he was an agriculture secretary. CDG