Due to the El Niño phenomenon
The Sangguniang Panlalawigan Friday declared a State of Calamity in Negros Oriental due to the El Niño phenomenon.
The declaration was made during the 17th Special Session of the Provincial Board after at least three local government units in Negros Oriental have already declared a state of calamity due to agricultural losses and damages induced by the El Niño phenomenon.
Board Member Jessica Jane Villanueva moved for the declaration of the State of Calamity after the recommendation of the Provincial Disaster Risk-Reduction & Management Council. It was unanimously passed.
In an interview Tuesday, Adrian Sedillo, executive director of the PDRRMO, identified the affected LGUs as those of Bayawan City, Sta. Catalina, and Mabinay.
Mabinay town was the latest LGU to make the declaration on Tuesday, while the two other LGUs placed their areas under a state of calamity over the weekend.
“Following the declaration of a state of calamity by the three LGUs, the provincial government can now also do the same for the entire province of Negros Oriental based on existing guidelines,” Sedillo said.
He added that the National Disaster Risk-Reduction & Management Council Memorandum No. 60 Series of 2019 stipulates that when two or more LGUs are affected by a disaster, the Provincial Board could declare a State of Calamity.
The PDRRM Council, chaired by Gov. Chaco Sagarbarria, has recommended to the Sangguniang Panlalawigan to declare the Province under a State of Calamity.
Sedillo said the move will allow LGUs and the provincial government to use their Quick Response Fund to cushion the negative impacts of the El Niño-triggered drought.
Governor Sagarbarria noted that the Province has not recorded any health incident related to El Niño so far.
As of April 18, the Department of Agriculture-Provincial Agriculture Technology Coordinating Office reported that agricultural production loss had reached P229.881 million.
The damaged crops include rice, corn, high-value crops, livestock, and fisheries.
Meanwhile, about 45 street dancers and spectators in the Pakol Festival in Sta. Catalina, Negros Oriental passed out at the height of the competition due to extreme heat, an official said Thursday.
Guian Jeif Anqui, a nurse and in charge of Operations & Warning of the Sta. Catalina Municipal Disaster Risk-Reduction & Management Office, said in an interview that the fainting spells occurred before the festival’s street dancing competition began Wednesday afternoon.
“Some of the street dancers had already passed out before 2 p.m., and were treated with oral rehydration salts, and given first aid by emergency responders on standby,” he said.
The cases were sporadic as the street dancing was ongoing, he added.
Anqui attributed the fainting spells to the extreme heat index between 40°C and 41°C as monitored by the DRRM team.
Eight contingents participated in the yearly Pakol Festival as part of the town’s annual fiesta held every April 25.
According to Anqui, the street dancing finished at about 3 p.m. and the route was a short one of about eight blocks.
During the grand showdown that followed the street dancing, which was held at the park, more people also passed out, he said.
So far, the patients responded to emergency treatment, and no one was reported to have been admitted to a hospital, Anqui added. (Judy F. Partlow/PNA)
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Photo Caption: As the heat index reached 41 degrees celsius in the northern towns of Negros Oriental, three of the 45 children who fainted Wednesday during the Pakol Festival street dancing in Sta. Catalina town are rushed to a shaded area where they were given First Aid. (Screengrab from Julia Arjilo FB)
