Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles
MANILA -- Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles on Thursday said the government is looking into measures to mitigate the damage to agriculture caused by Tropical Storm Falcon, which is expected to enhance the prevailing monsoon rains as it remains within the Philippine area of responsibility.
"We're examining and assessing areas devoted to agriculture that were affected and are going to be affected by the tropical storm. Agencies such as the NIA play a crucial role in ensuring that support services are maintained during natural weather disturbances," said Nograles, who also chairs the National Irrigation Administration (NIA).
The Cabinet Secretary mentioned reports reaching his office that localized thunderstorms in Maranding in Lanao del Norte brought heavy downpour, which caused the Maranding and other local rivers to overflow, directly affecting about 3,100 hectares of combined newly planted and vegetative stage rice fields.
Nograles said personnel from the local government unit and various government agencies are on the ground assessing the situation.
"We will wait for the floods to fully subside to be able to conduct a more thorough validation. Damage was sustained by numerous irrigation canals. Government teams have already been instructed to determine cost of repairs, which would start immediately because people's livelihoods are affected,” he said.
Nograles assured that the NIA is closely coordinating with its local offices in Lanao del Norte to address the concerns the province.
"Monitoring teams are reporting developments in Mindanao as well as in other parts of the country. Our aim in all these is to know what needs to be done and remedy the situation at the soonest possible time," Nograles stressed. (PR)
