Teodoro prepares for La Niña
DEFENSE Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. on Monday mobilized all departments and agencies under Task Force El Niño to begin preparations for the La Niña phenomenon.
In a statement, Defense Information Officer Arsenio Andolong said Teodoro, chairman of the presidential task force on El Niño response, noted the bulletin from the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration that La Niña will develop between June and August.
Teodoro also noted Pagasa’s report that the El Niño was weakening, but hotter and drier conditions will persist.
“As El Niño diminishes in its intensity, we must now start preparing for the arrival of La Niña, which is expected to bring above normal rainfall in the country,” he said. “Let’s work to mitigate and minimize the damage it can cause to lives and properties. Let us do our best, as the task force has always been doing.”
Meanwhile, Task Force El Niño (TFEN) spokesman Joey Villarama said that despite the weakening of El Niño, the last few weeks of May are still very critical in terms of water, energy and food conservation.
“Even if we are at the tail end of El Niño, before the climate pattern shifts to neutral conditions and eventually La Niña, the lingering effects of El Niño in the remaining days of this month will still have an impact on our limited resources,” Villarama said.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Jan. 19, 2024 signed Executive Order (EO) 53 to streamline, reactivate, and reconstitute the old El Niño task forces under EO 16 (s. 2001) and Memorandum Order 38 (s. 2019).
The President instructed the new task force to develop a comprehensive disaster preparedness and rehabilitation plan for El Niño and La Niña to provide “systematic, holistic, and results-driven interventions” to help the public cope and minimize their devastating effects.
Teodoro is the chairman of the presidential task force, with Secretary of Science and Technology Renato Solidum as co-chairman.
TFEN members are Environment Secretary Maria Antonia Yulo-Loyzaga, Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr., Health Secretary Teodoro Herbosa, and National Economic and Development Authority chief Arsenio Balisacan.