BARMM declares state of calamity due to ill effects of El Niño

GENERAL SANTOS, Philippines — The entire Bangsamoro Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) has been placed under a state of calamity due to the devastating effects of the prolonged dry spell on farm lands in the region.

The BARMM Bureau of Information (BOI) announced on Wednesday, May 1, that Chief Minister Ahod Balawag Ebrahim issued Proclamation No. 002-2024 placing all the four BARMM provinces and cities under a state of calamity.

This will help provide a lawful basis to expedite the needed interventions to affected communities, BOI said.

Ahead of the declaration, two provinces and 15 towns as well as 61 of the 63 villages in the Special Geographic Areas (SGA) had been declared as under a state of calamity. The combined damage in Maguindanao del Sur and Basilan was at more than P650 million in crops, livestock, and poultry.

In Maguindanao del Sur, 20 of the 24 towns have been severely affected by the prolonged dry spell and dwindling water sources, Governor Mariam Mangudadatu said. She said nearly 6,000 farmers were affected by the harsh weather.

In Basilan, Governor Hadjiman Salliman said the province incurred P315 million in agricultural losses. The island province relies mainly on agriculture for their source of income, he said.

The BARMM state of calamity declaration did not mention figures as to the extent of damage the dry spell has caused but BARRM agencies earlier said that at least 26,000 farmers have been displaced while 25,000 hectares of agricultural land have been severely affected.

Bahrain Piang, head of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Agrarian Reform (MAFAR) Field Operation Division, earlier said there was a high possibility the number of affected farmers would further increase.

In an assessment report in March, Piang said El Niño had destroyed close to 19,731 hectares of corn farms and almost 5,472 hectares of rice land. It also affected at least 690 hectares vegetable farms, about 45 hectares of fruit trees, and 56 hectares of cassava, a known staple in several communities in the region.

Weeks before the state of calamity declaration in BARMM,  the region’s Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (DRRMC) raised a “blue alert” status in the region, following reports about declining water sources and damage to crops due to intense heat.

The blue alert status activated the region’s Bravo Emergency Preparedness and Response Protocol or the Bangsamoro Action Plan (BAP) on El Niño.

Ebrahim said the state of calamity declaration will help stave off a spike in prices of basic commodities, as some traders usually take advantage of such a difficult situation.

With the calamity declaration, concerned BARMM ministries, offices, and agencies have been mobilized to address the ongoing situation in the region, the BARMM information bureau said in a press briefer. – Rappler.com