ILOILO CITY: The local government of Sara in the northern part of Iloilo has declared a state of calamity due to the El Niño phenomenon.

The declaration was made following a special session by the Sangguniang Bayan on Friday, April 12.

The Municipal Disaster Risk and Reduction Management Council (MDRRMC), in a resolution approved by the town mayor on April 8, recommended a state of calamity declaration, citing water scarcity and agricultural losses.

The MDRRMC, in its resolution, reported that the dry spell has caused the town to experience prolonged drought which resulted in a "critical water shortage, causing immense damage of 35 percent in rice and 40 percent in corn, affecting 2,251 farmers."

Meanwhile, the Office of the Municipal Agriculturist reported losses totaling P34,137,168 from 1,024 hectares of rice fields and P54,635,850 from 1,715 hectares of corn fields.

"The local government resources are no longer sufficient to [effectively] address the situation and provide the necessary assistance to the affected farmers," the resolution added.

The local government of Sara is the first in Iloilo and fourth in Western Visayas to declare a state of calamity due to El Niño.

Based on the April 9 data of the Regional Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (RDRRMC), Sibalom incurred an agricultural loss of P46 million, Anini-y with P465,300, and San Enrique with P5.4 million.

The latest RDRRMC report showed over P770 million in agricultural damages and losses to Western Visayas, with Iloilo being the hardest hit at P519 million.

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