Duterte reconstitutes El Nino task force

August 16, 2019

In what appeared to be a delayed issuance of a memorandum order, President Rodrigo Duterte has reactivated and reconstituted the El Nino Task Force to mitigate the effects of El Nino phenomenon.

Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea, by the authority of the President, signed Memorandum Order No. 38 reconstituting the task force.

The Order was signed on August 13, 2019 while it cited the current climate models of the Department of Science and Technology-Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration suggest that "there is seventy-five percent probability that El Nino phenomenon will persist from June until August 2019."

"The recurrence of the El Nino phenomenon call for the implementation of both short and long-term solutions to ensure food, water and energy security, safeguard livelihoods, and improve the country's disaster and climate resilience," the MO read.

The director general and Socioeconomic Planning Secretary of the National Economic and Development Authority ( NEDA) serves as the overall head of the task force.

The secretary of the Department of Agriculture is the head for food security; secretary of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources as head for water security; secretary of the Department of Energy as head for energy security; secretary of the Department of Health as head for health; and secretary of the Department of Interior and Local Government as head for safety.

There are also members from various government agencies.

The task force was tasked to revise and update the Roadmap for Addressing the Impacts of El Nino (RAIN), and monitor implementation of short and long-term solutions and programs identified, especially on five critical areas, such as food security, water security, energy security, health, and safety.

Funding requirements for implementing the order shall be charged against the existing appropriations of the member agencies of the task force.

The order takes effect immediately.

The Presidential Task Force to mitigate the effects of the El Nino/La Nina phenomenon was initially constituted through Executivew Order No. 16, which was signed on May 18, 2001.

The El Nino Task Force reconvened in 2015 and crafted the RAIN to mitigate the effect of the El Nino phenomenon on food security, energy security, health, and safety.

During the recent El Nino, several places, including those in Mindanao, have declared a state of calamity due to effects of drought. Celerina Monte/DMS