The Philippine Online Chronicles

The government and the National Power Co.'s (Napocor) lack of preparatory measures for the El Niño phenomenon, groups and personages said, is to blame for recent power outages in the country.

In an Inquirer report, Advocates of Science and Technology for the People (AGHAM) said the government seems to be only now creating hasty and superficial solutions -- impractical, as the El Niño was forecast seven months ago.

“The government is...[using El Nino] to justify many onerous policies like emergency powers to construction of new dams,” Archie Orillosa of AGHAM said.

Environment group Kalikasan People’s Network for the Environment (Kaliksan PNE) as well as other organizations under the Water for the People Network (WPN) also pointed to the "privatization and the unequal distribution of water resources in the Philippines as the causes of the water shortage the country.”

“Power generators who control and use 78 percent of the total water volume in the region while the majority of the farmers and irrigators get only 22 percent,” Kalikasan PNE said.

Recently, the government allowed private companies in Mindanao to connect to the national grid, allotting P100 million for the lease of generators. This would supposedly create 160 megawatts of extra electricity for the region.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo also ordered the National Disaster Coordinating Council and the Department of Energy to ease the power shortage, including the implementation of rolling blackouts.

Congresswoman Darlene Custodio of South Cotabato expressed dismay at Napocor’s neglect of maintenance and rehabilitation, and inefficient management of hydropower sources and generators. “Pulangi (hydropower plant in Bukidnon) has not even been dredged of silt for many years now,” she said.

This is contrary to the belief that the severe power problem in Mindanao is caused by the region’s heavy dependence on hydroelectric power.

Long-term strategy

The Manila Times.net reported that “According to various groups, the unmet objectives of the Energy Power Industry Reform Act of 2001 (EPIRA) only mask the Energy officials’ failure to prepare for the crisis."

“[N]ine years after its enactment by President Gloria Arroyo, the EPIRA’s promises remain just that—promises. And the recent brownouts that have been hitting the country and the declaration of a power-crisis calamity in Mindanao highlight this more than anything else.”

Last month, Dr. William Dar, head of International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), expressed his belief that “there is a need for a long-term strategy to deal with climate change and El Niño rather than simply taking reactive measures. There is a need for institutional mechanisms to develop and implement a strategy of adaptation and mitigation for our farmers to surmount climate change and the continuing onslaught of El Niño.”

Heat wave

The Department of Agriculture and the Philippine Air Force has stopped its attempt on cloud seeding because of the lack of “seedable” clouds amidst the recent light rains (which failed to increase the water level of Magat Dam).

On the other hand, Nueva Ecija seems untouched with only portions of its northern part affected by the drought. According to former Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap, this is because of the distribution of flat-bed dryers and the repair of the area’s irrigation systems two years ago. He said that because of the successful implementation of government projects in the area, they are expecting minimal harvest losses this year.

In Cebu City, there were reports of the heat wave killing poultry. Some even feared that the brownouts caused by the power shortage might coincide with the Pacquiao-Clottey fight.

The Philippines, Asia News reported, is the worst hit by the El Nino in Southeast Asia.

In the province of Cotabato, drought has affected fields and cattle, and for the past two months the indigenous population of Lumad has been eating poisonous weeds to survive.

Several Filipino Twitter users have expressed their exasperation about the El Nino, and hope the recent light rains means it will end soon.

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