Bacolod City – As damage to agricultural crops in Western Visayas has amounted to P761,240,675, as of March 12, there is no declaration of a state of calamity in the region, according to Office of the Civil Defense (OCD) 6 regional director, Raul Fernandez.
The drought caused by the prevailing El Niño phenomenon has affected 15,417 hectares of crops, as well as 20,488 farmers and fisherfolk in the region, OCD 6 reports indicated.
Iloilo Province incurred the most damage, with the value pegged at P519,198,659, followed by Antique – P130,701,505, and Negros Occidental at P78,451,351, the report added.
In a phone interview recently, Fernandez said both the regional offices of Departments of Agriculture, as well as the Social Welfare and Development, are still closely coordinating with each other to get the actual data as to the numbers of the affected population, which is among the criteria for local government units to declare a state of calamity.
For an LGU to declare under a state of calamity, Fernandez disclosed that at least 15 percent of its population must be affected and in need of assistance, as per reports of the DSWD, and at least 30 percent of the means of livelihood in agriculture, business, and industrial, are also affected.
Amid the prevailing drought, Fernandez also said that there is no water shortage in Western Visayas, although they noted lowering of water level in dams, with Iloilo now in critical low.
As to the water levels in Negros Occidental, he said it remains okay, except for Himamaylan City in Negros Occidental, which has reported water shortages in eight of its barangays. (Gilbert Bayoran via The Visayan Daily Star)