• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
Due to extreme drought that has affected about 6,000 households, the municipality of San Enrique in Negros Occidental has been placed under a state of calamity.
In a special session, the Sangguniang Bayan of San Enrique approved the recommendation of the Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council to declare a state of calamity in the town.
Mayor Jilson Tubillara said the damage to crops and fisheries due to the extreme heat caused by the El Niño phenomenon has been placed at P9.9 million, affecting 600 farmers.
San Enrique is among the rice producing municipalities in Negros Occidental.
The municipal health unit is also facing a shortage of medicines for cough and other related ailments, including hypertension, due to the severe heat being experienced by town residents, according to the mayor.
With the declaration of a state of calamity, Tubillara said the Office of the Municipal Agriculturist is now studying what form of assistance can be extended to affected farmers, aside from financial aid.
He also announced that Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson will also extend assistance to affected farmers in San Enrique.
Lacson earlier said that the provincial government of Negros Occidental will extend P2,000 financial assistance to each of the affected farmers, through the Provincial Social Welfare and Development Office.
Tubillara also confirmed water rationing in some barangays of San Enrique.*
