OCD to convene El Niño team

MANILA, Philippines — To ensure a harmonized implementation of efforts to prepare for and address the possible impacts of the El Niño weather phenomenon, the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) will convene a national team on July 19 in Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City.

The group, dubbed as the National El Niño team, will discuss the ongoing activities of several government agencies involved in the preparations for the phenomenon that is expected to impact later this year.

OCD administrator and National Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council executive director Undersecretary Ariel Nepomuceno will preside over the discussions, which include the presentation of short-, medium- and long-term plans of various team clusters to address El Niño’s effects on food security, water security, energy security, health, public safety and other issues.

The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) is providing an updated forecast on the El Niño as well as the status of various dams in the country.

“We are looking forward to the finalization of the National Action Plan for El Niño by this team as we continue to undertake various activities specific to our agency’s mandates to ensure that the effects of El Niño-induced dry spells and drought to the country can be countered,” Nepomuceno said.

PAGASA earlier declared the start of the onset of El Niño and forecasted the possible strengthening of the phenomenon to ‘moderate’ to ‘severe’ degrees by the latter part of 2023.

The National El Niño team regularly convenes for updates on the actions taken by agencies following the President’s instructions for a science-based, whole-of-nation strategy to prepare the country for the adverse effects of El Niño.

OCD chief visits Cordillera

Meanwhile, during the incident management capability demonstration at the Melvin Jones Grandstand and Football Field in Baguio City, various groups and organizations showcased their capabilities to manage and respond to incidents using existing DRRM tools and services such as the incident command system, collapsed structure search and rescue and crashed vehicle extrication and rescue.

Nepomuceno, in his keynote message, expressed gratitude to the Cordillera Regional Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council and the stakeholders for the sacrifices and great work done to ensure that the region is safe and resilient in times of disaster.

“I want to personally thank you and acknowledge the big sacrifice that you are doing and are willing to do – for your willingness to be trained, for your willingness to serve. Thank you very much for dedicating yourselves to this mission and for serving the country well,” Nepomuceno said.

He emphasized that the exercises would give participants the needed “muscle memory” as he stressed the need for Filipinos to change their mindset in dealing with disasters.

“We need to plan and always practice. Events like this shall give you and the stakeholders the possible muscle memory that we need. Change our mindset and always practice,” Nepomuceno added.