Iloilo City is again under a state of calamity due to water scarcity brought about by the El Niño phenomenon.

It was the second to be declared in almost a month.

The city was first placed under a state of calamity on March 26 following the pertussis outbreak.

During a special session yesterday, the city council acted favorably on the recommendation of the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (CDRRMC) and Mayor Jerry Treñas.

The declaration of a state of calamity will allow the city government to use the over P12.5 million fund from the quick response fund to buy and distribute water for three months to affected households.

“The current condition in the barangays requires an urgent need to declare a state of calamity so that the city government can provide immediate assistance through the use of P12,544,200 for the procurement and delivery of water to all affected barangays,” Treñas in his endorsement letter to the council.

The CDRRMC said 23,230 persons or 23.33 percent of their projected population in 25 villages based on the 2020 Census of Population and Housing are affected.

The number surpassed the 15 percent affected population in the criteria set by the national DRRMC to declare the state of calamity.

These 25 barangays are prioritized in the assessment since they are considered high and medium risk of drought.

“If we would be taking into account all the other barangays in the city, the total affected population will even double or triple,” Darwin Papa, CDRRM office operations officer, said in an interview. (PNA)