RICE TERRACES ALL DRIED UP DUE TO DROUGHT / POWER OUTAGE
ARTIFICIAL?
[PHOTO
AT LEFT - Mountain climbers plod through the grasslands of Mt. Pulag, Luzon’s
highest peak at 2,922 meters above sea level, at the boundary of Ifugao, Benguet
and Nueva Vizcaya provinces. FERNAN NEBRES]
BAYOMBONG, NUEVA VIZCAYA, MARCH 7, 2010 (STAR) By Charlie Lagasca - Banaue town in Ifugao province, where the famous rice terraces are located, has been placed under a state of calamity due to the continued dry spell caused by the El Niño phenomenon that has dried up rice fields.
“The terraces have practically dried up to the extent that even a slight rain could cause landslides,” said Banaue Mayor Lino Madchiw.
The dry spell has affected thousands of hectares of agricultural crops and livestock nationwide, and the drought now threatens Banaue’s world famous rice terraces, leaving the paddies parched and highly vulnerable to erosion.
The drought has damaged P65 million worth of palay, vegetables, fruits, and livestock.
Because of the drought, large earthworms have penetrated the paddies and endangered the terraces, which is a World Heritage Site and one of the country’s top tourist attractions.
[PHOTO AT LEFT - Worsening drought: Farmers in Tuguegarao, Cagayan reap what little is left of their corn crops, amid the worsening drought in the province. Ernie Peñaredondo
The perceived lack of interest among young Ifugao natives to tend to the centuries-old terraces has aggravated the degradation of the terraces, sometimes referred to as the “Eighth Wonder of the World.”
The terraces begin at the base of the mountain range and extend several thousand feet upwards.
Two of the terrace clusters in Banaue, namely Bangaan and Batad, have been inscribed by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) as a World Heritage Site. International experts have been sent by UNESCO to Banaue to help locals preserve the terraces.
Local officials of several towns in Luzon and the Visayas also plan to declare a state of calamity in their areas after agricultural crops and livestock have been wiped out by the current dry spell.
Rep. Anna York Bondoc of the fourth district of Pampanga reported yesterday that eight towns in her province are expected to declare a state of calamity in areas affected by the drought that threatens 14,000 hectares of rice land where irrigation water has been cut off.
President Arroyo is set to declare a power crisis in Mindanao and implement emergency measures costing almost P10 billion after the drought affected the hydroelectric power stations in the region.
The weather bureau reported that a moderate El Niño still prevails over the equatorial Pacific and may last until June.
The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) confirmed that 15 more provinces in Luzon have been experiencing a dry spell in the past three months.
Pagasa said Ifugao, Abra, Kalinga, Apayao, Mt. Province, Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, La Union, Pangasinan, Bataan, Zambales, Cavite, Laguna, and Rizal have experienced no rains in the past three months.
Pagasa administrator Prisco Nilo said the provinces of Nueva Vizcaya and Quirino are now under drought conditions.
Nilo warned Metro Manila residents that the effects of El Niño could become critical starting this March and could last until May.
“If we don’t conserve water, we may face water shortage in Metro Manila,” said Nilo, adding that the water level is near critical at Angat Dam in Norzagaray, Bulacan.
The Banaue municipal government declared a state of calamity in the entire town to be able to use a portion of the P2-million local calamity fund to assist affected farmers.
Banaue was the second Ifugao town to be placed under a state of calamity after Alfonso Lista where the dry spell has killed hundreds of farm animals.
“At least 25 percent of the terraced rice farms have already been affected by the dry spell. (We fear) that our terraces will all be affected if the situation will continue for four more months,” Madchiw said.
The dry spell also put in peril the Tinawon red rice, Ifugao’s special rice variety which is sought after by both local and foreign tourists.
Besides its high economic value, the Tinawon rice is also part of Ifugao culture. It sells for P60 to P120 a kilo, making it a high-value crop.
“Many of our farmers are coming to us for help, asking for farm inputs and other related items to save their crops,” Madchiw said.
Ifugao Gov. Teodoro Baguilat said they might as well declare a state of calamity in the entire province since practically all towns have been affected by the worsening El Niño.
Malacañang called on officials to step out of their offices and personally take a look at the situation in their respective areas.
Deputy presidential spokesman Ricardo Saludo, in an interview over Radyo ng Bayan, said the officials should take a hands-on approach in dealing with the problems brought by El Niño.
Saludo said officials should be more proactive and act on the requirements of the farmers faster.
“We are calling on our leaders and heads of government offices to find out directly and address the problems being faced by our farmers and other sectors because of El Niño,” Saludo said in Filipino.
Saludo said the government should provide more information on how to deal with El Niño.
“Let us stand with our people and join hands to give succor to the suffering. This will all come to an end and we will all emerge from this together,” he said.
Drought triggers repair of irrigation canals
Newly appointed Agriculture Secretary Bernie Fondevilla tried to find a silver lining to the El Niño phenomenon, saying the dry spell has prompted officials to repair irrigation systems and other infrastructure.
Fondevilla told reporters during the weekly Kapihan sa Sulo Hotel news forum that although the dry spell has already damaged P8 billion worth of crops, “the repair of damaged infrastructure can now go on unhampered.”
He said aside from the repair of damaged irrigation canals, construction of farm-to-market roads will go full blast to benefit farmers in far flung areas.
Fondevilla said if the El Niño continues, more infrastructure projects would be completed in preparation for the rainy season.
Among the hardest-hit areas are provinces in Cagayan Valley and Central Luzon and some parts of Negros island and Mindanao.
Fondevilla said some dams in Central Luzon are now pumping water to irrigate farms in the region.
Dennis Gana, spokesman of the National Power Corp., said the exclusive use of dams for irrigation would lead to higher electricity rates because power would no longer come solely from hydroelectric power plants.
Meanwhile, Agustin Molina, senior scientist and regional coordinator for the Asia-Pacific of the Rome-based Bioversity International, said the conversion of agricultural lands to residential and industrial uses is also adversely affecting the production of rice and other crops.
Molina said a study conducted by their group showed that corn, which Filipinos sometimes substitute for rice, has also been similarly affected, as have other cereals. “Cereals such as rice, corn, wheat, rye, and oats and potatoes will lose land suitable for their cultivation due to climate change by 2055,” Molina told The STAR yesterday. - With Marvin Sy and Teddy Molina
FROM THE DAILY TRIBUNE
Mindanao power firms suspect crisis artificial By Aytch S. de la Cruz 03/07/2010
The basis for the granting of special powers to President Arroyo to address a supposed power crisis in Mindanao may not exist at all as electric cooperatives on the island said the shortage may be aritificial.
The Association of Mindanao Rural Electric Power Cooperative (AMRECO) had called on the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and the Joint Congressional Power Commission to conduct separate investigations into the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) on suspicion that the power crisis in Mindanao is being induced to justify a move to increase power rates.
AMRECO also questioned the state firm National Power Corp. (Napocor)’s plan to further reduce its power allocation to only about 50 percent or less.
Malacañang also indicated yesterday that a special session in Congress may not be needed for Arroyo to address the shortage of electricity in Mindanao after she placed the whole island under a state of power crisis last Thursday.
Deputy presidential spokesman Charito Planas, in a phone interview with the Tribune, said the Palace concurred with observations of some senators that calling a special session might just prolong the problem instead of giving it a quick fix due to the existence of some politicians out to exploit the Congress proceedings to grandstand as election day nears.
Deputy presidential spokesperson Ricardo Saludo, however, said the holding of a special session will not be a problem since members of Congress would be on top of the situation.
“You know, they (lawmakers) are the ones who run the Congress. If they don’t want to incorporate (other issues) for that, they can always do so. They are the ones who will conduct a special session, they control it, so let us not make it complicated anymore,” Saludo said on radio.
AMRECO president Sergio Dagooc said many officials of their electric cooperative members were very angry that blood pressures rose when Napocor officials announced during a meeting In Cagayan de Oro City early this week that it plans to further cut back the power allocation of power cooperatives to just 50 percent or less.
“Whose blood pressure won’t rise? Imagine the implications of this move. This means that 50 percent of revenues from power consumers will be gone. If our coop’s load is reduced, it will also reduce, more or less, the load of every electric coop, every private power company, even that of industrial customers,” Dagooc, also general manager of the Misamis Oriental Electric Cooperatives (Moresco 1), said.
“This is more seriously an issue of revenue reduction in the long run. How will our cooperatives pay for the salaries of coop employees if our product or service is reduced to half?” he said.
He said the power crisis in Mindanao has negatively impacted the economy of the island.
He also voiced suspicions that the electricity shortage is part of a plot hatched by some minds to make it appear that there is a power crisis in Mindanao.
“Some sectors might be manipulating the events to cause an artificial crisis,” he said, adding that power cooperatives were informed last October that the power supply shortage would peak and be felt in 2014 due to load growth that could no longer be supported by the present power generators.
“The last annual update we had from the National Power Corporation and the now-defunct National Transmission Commission stated that the power crisis in Mindanao would occur in the year 2014,” he said.
“The President has already declared power crisis, she has done her part. Now, if the congressmen and the senators don’t want to hold a special session because they think they can’t arrange a quorum, then we can’t do anything about it — we’ll just have to wait for June. It’s that simple, let’s not venture on other issues,” Saludo added.
Saludo said the Palace is not asking for any emergency powers for Arroyo contrary to some reports.
“The President has never asked for emergency powers to address electricity shortages. She adopted the Department of Energy’s recommendations including the declaration of a power crisis in Mindanao that would lift the ban on the government contracting more generating capacity. But the law still requires that Congress set contracting rules before additional generating units can be leased. But no emergency powers have been sought,” Saludo stated.
Saludo specified that Congress may help by setting up some safeguards so as to avoid possible abuses by some officials upon entering into new contracts toward government acquisition of additional generating capacity.
Administration legislators, meanwhile, supported calls for Congress to hold a special session to grant President Arroyo emergency powers to address the current power shortage in the country.
“I urge the government to adopt measures to address the power problem in Mindanao which is very critical now. The President’s emergency powers will certainly help in quickly solving the energy crisis,” said Deputy Speaker Simeon Datumanong.
Datumanong noted the predicament of members of Congress who are busy campaigning or loaded with their political activities as elections are near. However, he reiterated his appeal to everyone to set aside politics to help Mindanao.
Zambaoanga Rep. Antonio Cerilles, chairman of the House Committee on Land Use, said he is amenable to a special session.
“We in Mindanao are now suffering from the effects of El Niño. We should not waste time in acting on the energy crisis and other problems brought about by the dry spell,” Cerilles said.
Bulacan Rep. Reylina Nicolas said it is the duty of the members of the House and Senate to attend any special session since their term is until June 30.
“So if there will be a special session on anything about the energy crisis, I will certainly attend it,” said Nicolas, vice chairperson of the House Committee on Appropriations.
Nicolas said during the House energy committee hearing last Monday, Energy Secretary Angelo Reyes clarified there is no need to grant emergency powers to the President.
“He said what is needed is to invoke Art. 71 Section 71 of the EPIRA law that states that ‘Upon the determination by the President of the Philippines of an imminent shortage of the supply of electricity, Congress may authorize, through a joint resolution, the establishment of additional generating capacity under such terms and conditions as it may approve,” Nicolas said.
Baguio City Rep. Mauricio Domogan said a special session should be held for the sole purpose of granting President Arroyo special powers to effectively deal with the power crisis in Mindanao.
“Why not if it’s necessary,” said Domogan.
The proposal to convene Congress to a special session and grant PGMA special powers to solve power crisis in the country was brought about by the drastic drop of the water levels in several hydroelectric dams due to El Niño and the bogging down of three coal-fired power plants.