AS THE country braces for the effects of the expected Super El Niño, President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. urged Filipinos to prepare buckets and containers to collect rainwater to help address possible water shortages during the dry season.
In a press conference in Singapore, Marcos said the government would soon launch an information campaign on the collection, filtration and treatment of rainwater for safe consumption.
He said this would be part of the government’s water conservation campaign in response to the expected drought.
“Part of that public service and those public service messages will be, collect, bumili na kayo ng balde para ‘pag umulan, makolekta na ninyo lahat,” the President said.
(Part of those public service messages will be: Start buying buckets now so that when it rains, you can collect all the water.)
“Tuturuan namin kayo, ‘yung gamot para maging malinis. We’ll give you the filter. We’ll teach you how to do everything para hindi kayo magkasakit at maayos ang pag-treat ng tubig, pag-filter ng tubig. And it will be healthy even for little children,” he added.
(We will teach you what to use to make the water clean. We’ll give you the filter. We’ll teach you everything you need to do so you won’t get sick and can properly treat and filter the water. It will be safe even for little children.)
Marcos said government efforts to address the impact of Super El Niño also included securing hospital supplies, protecting food and water supplies, supporting farmers, and ensuring students could continue learning amid extreme heat and drought.
He said his initial orders were to secure electricity and medical supplies in the country’s hospitals and prepare the agriculture sector to ensure local food supplies.
The President said the government would also conduct cloud seeding to induce rainfall, with preparations underway, including scheduling operations and procuring the necessary materials.
On livelihood assistance for affected communities, Marcos said the government would support farmers and provide them with the necessary training through the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA).
“Then, we started thinking also about the children going to school because baka naman mabawasan na naman ‘yung school days natin because of masyadong mainit at hindi makapasok ‘yung mga bata, or it’s too uncomfortable or even unhealthy,” Marcos said.
(Then, we also started thinking about schoolchildren because our school days might be reduced again because it is too hot for children to attend classes, or the conditions might be too uncomfortable or even unhealthy.)
“So, paano natin gagawin ‘yun? So, we’re trying to make sure that the alternative modes of teaching are available. But, find ways, as much as possible, to do face-to-face because we talked about it for a long time, iba talaga ‘yung face-to-face kaysa sa remote,” he added.
(So, how do we address that? We’re trying to ensure that alternative modes of teaching are available. But we will find ways to hold face-to-face classes as much as possible because we have discussed this for a long time, and face-to-face learning really is different from remote learning.) (TPM/SunStar Philippines)