SAYING that the El Niño weather phenomenon could exacerbate poverty levels in the country, Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian yesterday called for a Senate review of the government’s readiness to respond to the potential consequences of the climate pattern on inflation, food production and power costs.
“There is an urgent need to assess the capability of concerned government agencies and determine the planned interventions to mitigate the impact of El Niño. The entire Philippine government should be prepared to cushion the detrimental effects of the El Niño on the country’s food, energy, and economic security,” Gatchalian said in a statement.
He said the condition is expected to have a negative impact on inflation due to reduced food production and potentially higher electricity prices.
He added it could also affect the agricultural sector’s contribution to the country’s gross domestic product (GDP).
“Based on a 2019 World Bank report, recurring El Nino’s occurrences in the country are estimated to cause national GDP losses from 0.29 percent to 1.57 percent and agricultural GDP losses between 1.73 percent and 6.9 percent, “ Gatchalian said.
He said that if the El Niño happened last year, the government could have suffered between P57.84 billion to P313.11 billion losses in the national GDP and between P30.85 billion and P124.31 billion losses in the agricultural sector’s GDP.
Gatchalian stressed there is a pressing need for the government to come up with short and long-term actions to cushion the impacts of the El Niño as he reiterated his call for the formulation of comprehensive measures to address the threat recurring water shortage in the country.
The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration has warned that the El Niño phenomenon could cause dry spells and droughts in the country in the last quarter of the year until the first half of 2024.
The state weather bureau said that at least 28 areas could experience dry conditions and 36 others may record dry spells by the end of 2023, while at least 26 areas in Luzon, including Metro Manila, may experience drought by January 2024,
