President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. will soon issue an executive order to ensure the government’s immediate interventions to mitigate the effects of the El Niño phenomenon, Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. said Tuesday.

The plan to issue an EO was raised during the 15th Cabinet convened by Marcos at Malacañan Palace in Manila on Tuesday, Teodoro said in a Palace briefing.

“Maglalabas po ang ating Pangulo ng executive order para mapaghandaan ng maaga at masolusyonan ng mabilisan, [magkaroon] ng maaring interventions na mabilisan at patuloy po na monitoring at pag-aagap sa maaaring maging epekto ng El Niño (Our President will issue an executive order to prepare early and resolve quickly, have possible interventions that are quick and continue to monitor and anticipate the possible effects of El Niño),” Teodoro said.

“Nagpi-prepare po kami ng (We are preparing an) extended El Niño scenario just for service continuity and due care. This EO will come out as soon as possible,” he added.

Teodoro said the reactivation of El Niño Task Force was among the mitigation measures to address the impact of the weather phenomenon on the country.

He said the task force would also be reorganized.

Science and Technology Secretary Renato Solidum Jr., who will co-chair the task force, said the effects of a “strong” El Niño will be felt until the first or second quarter of 2024.

“The peak of El Niño in terms of drought will be April of 2024, which is slightly different from the forecast last week or two weeks ago that it will be May,” Solidum, who joined the press briefing, said, adding that there will be a possible “normal to slightly below normal” rainfall by May or June 2024.

Solidum said drought may persist in 63 provinces, while dry spell may be felt in 12 provinces by April next year.

Marcos earlier emphasized the need to ensure steady water and power supply during the El Niño phenomenon.

Environment Secretary Maria Antonia Yulo-Loyzaga said Marcos has issued a directive to make sure that water-related infrastructure projects would be “multipurpose.”

Yulo-Loyzaga said the government is working with the private sector for the implementation of water-related projects.

“These three — availability, access, affordability — ‘yun po ang pinakamahalaga (are most important) in terms of water security,” she said.

“Ang instruction ni Pangulo (The President’s instruction) is to have our infrastructure investments be multipurpose so that one investment in a kind of infrastructure can generate several values, whether they are for flood control in the end, whether for irrigation or eventually for water supply and distribution as well. So, ‘yung pagka-multipurpose ng mga investment na ito (making these investments multipurpose) is also one way to extract the optimal value from a single investment dito sa infra (here in infrastructure),” Yulo-Loyzaga added.

Teodoro said around 23 new committed power projects and three battery energy storage systems are “scheduled to come in the first quarter of 2024,” noting that there is also ongoing development of inventory and coordination of critical facilities. (PNA)