Robin Padilla seeks gov’t info drive on El Niño, La Niña

Senator Robin Padilla has filed a resolution seeking a comprehensive public information dissemination campaign to help the nation prepare for various “environmental shocks” such as El Niño and La Niña.

Senate Resolution 1025 directs the Senate Committee on Public Information and Mass Media, which Padilla chairs, to conduct an inquiry in aid of legislation on the matter. 

The lawmaker said that Filipinos must be informed about necessary preparations and responses by the national and local governments, as they have been “taking the brunt of these environmental shocks” over the years. 

Due to this, Padilla said a comprehensive public information drive is needed to inform the affected population of the government's projects, programs, and activities to help them cope with the adverse effects of such a crisis. 

“[T]here is a need to review historical data on the effects and corresponding government response to the El Niño and La Niña phenomena encountered by the country in the past decades and identify the policy gaps therein for consideration in crafting both short term and long term action plans for better sectoral outcomes,” the resolution read.  

Padilla said there should be a whole-of-society approach to the information dissemination drive for all crisis-related concerns “to facilitate societal inclusivity and to ensure the active participation of all sectors to better amplify the government's response to ensure that information will be delivered promptly and in a language well-understood by the population directly affected.”

Earlier this month, state weather bureau PAGASA urged preparations for a “wetter” La Niña season, especially in areas prone to flooding.

PAGASA forecasts that the La Niña phenomenon, which is associated with above-normal rainfall conditions, will begin between June and August. 

This, as PAGASA announced Monday that the country was already in the "weak El Niño" stage, and the weather phenomenon may end by June. —Giselle Ombay/ VAL, GMA Integrated News