Despite state of calamity,no specific funding

CAPIZ province may be under a state of calamity due to the impact of the El Niño climate
phenomenon, but there is no specific allocation for the calamity fund.
Atty. Sheila Artillero, chief of the Capiz Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (Capiz
PDRRMO), said the El Niño Task Force is still working to finalize the budget for the Quick Response Fund (QRF).
To recall, it was last May 24, 2024 that the Sangguniang Panlalawigan of Capiz declared a state of calamity.
According to Artillero, the provincial government under the administration of Governor Fredenil “Oto” Castro is working to augment the responses made by the national government agencies to ease the
negative impact of El Niño.

Artillero said the provincial government is also cautious when it’s only the first half of the year and there’s the impending La Niña, which may bring stronger rains.
In the past several years, many towns in the province have been submerged in floodwaters
even without storm signal.
The provincial government wants proper utilization of the QRF, which has a budget of P32 million for the entire calendar year 2024.
On the other hand, the provincial-wide state of calamity enables local government units (LGUs) in the municipal level to utilize its own QRF.
El Niño Impact Data from the Provincial Agriculture Office (PAO) revealed that approximately P379 million worth of agricultural crops were damaged by El Niño while aff ecting 6,403 hectares and 7,930 farmers and their families.
In the fishery sector, P22.7 million in damages were reported by Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) Provincial Manager Edwin Javier. There were 1,312 captured fisheries operators and
367 aquaculture operators were impacted by the phenomenon.
About 600 hectares of fi shponds were severely affected, with 579 hectares of fresh water and
52 hectares of brackish water impacted.
Previously, five m u n i c i p a l i t i e s — Ta p a z , Dumarao, Maayon, Pontevedra, and Panay—had already declared a state of calamity to mitigate the effects of the severe heat index on residents and damages to the agriculture and fisheries sectors.