P97 million aid distributed to Pinoys affected by El Niño

MANILA, Philippines — Filipinos affected by the severe dry spell amid El Niño have received P97 million in “relief assistance” from the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).

About 695,000 families or 2.9 million people nationwide have been assisted, DSWD spokesperson Irene Dumlao yesterday told reporters during a weekly forum.

Beneficiaries came from Northern Luzon, Visayas and the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, Dumlao noted.

Dumlao said this was done under Social Welfare Secretary Rex Gatchalian’s leadership and his water sufficiency and food security programs.

These programs are Projects LAWA or Local Adaptation to Water Access and BINHI or Breaking Insufficiency through Nutritious Harvest for the Impoverished.

Last month, 166 residents of Patnanungan town in Quezon started building water harvesting systems and gardening projects through these two programs, Dumlao said.

From April 17 to 19, project beneficiaries underwent comprehensive training encompassing disaster risk reduction, climate change adaptation and practical skills for water harvesting, gardening, vermicomposting and hydroponics.

Angat Dam in Bulacan yesterday suffered the biggest water level drop amid extreme heat caused by El Niño and the dry season.

Its water level dropped to 187.13 meters or just 7.13 meters before its minimum operating level of 180 meters.

On Wednesday, Angat Dam’s water level was 187.65 meters.

The 0.52-meter drop also means that Angat Dam’s water level was 24.87 meters below its normal high water level of 212 meters, as of 8 a.m. yesterday.

Environment Undersecretary Carlos David said the 50 cubic meters per second allocation for Metro Manila will be maintained for the entire month of May.

Many areas in the country have reported a decline in their water supply, David noted.

“Most of them are concentrated in the west side of the country, from Ilocos, also in Bulacan, there were reports that the water level on the ground dropped,” he said.

“Palawan and Zamboanga City were the most extreme cases in terms of water,” he added.

Water supply from deep wells has declined based on reports from water districts, David noted.

Zamboanga City has been