By Dominique Gabriel G. Bañaga

Amid the ongoing drought due to the El Niño phenomenon which is now devastating hectares of farmland in Negros Occidental, the Office of Civil Defense in Western Visayas (OCD-6) has issued reminders for local government units (LGUs) prior to declaring a “state of calamity.”

In a radio interview yesterday, OCD-6 director Raul Fernandez said criteria should be met before making such a declaration.

LGUs can declare a state of calamity if 50 percent of its affected population requires emergency assistance, and 30 percent of agricultural and industrial sectors are affected.

Fernandez said a locality can make a declaration if two or three of its barangays are affected, and 15 percent of the affected population requires emergency assistance, and if their livelihoods are affected.

He further explained that if two or three municipalities within the region are placed under a state of calamity, the entire province can be declared under a calamity state.

Similarly, if two or more provinces make such a declaration, the entire region can be placed under a state of calamity.

Fernandez said they are continuing to coordinate with LGUs in Western Visayas to determine if they can declare a state of calamity due to the dry spell.

He added that, based on their latest assessment, there is no declaration of the state of calamity in the region yet.

Fernandez added that cloud-seeding is not currently feasible, based on the ongoing study conducted by the El Niño task force.

Iloilo and Antique provinces have already undergone rapid damage assessment and heat analysis.

Earlier, OCD-6 reported that damage to agriculture in Western Visayas due to the drought has already reached P761,240,675.

Twelve out of 31 LGUs in Negros Occidental have reported crop damage./DGB, WDJ