MANILA -- To ensure the country’s readiness to fight the effects of the El Niño phenomenon, President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. has reactivated and reconstituted the Task Force El Niño through the issuance of Executive Order No. 53, increasing the resilience of communities and securing sufficient water supply, food security and public health and safety.

Under EO No. 53 issued on January 19, 2024, and signed by Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, the Task Force El Niño is reactivated under the Office of the President. The Task Force will be chaired by the Secretary of the Department of National Defense and co-chaired by the Secretary of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST).

Among the members are the Secretaries of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DOST), Department of Agriculture (DA), Department of Health (DOH) and National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA).

The Office of Civil Defense shall provide administrative and technical support to the Task Force in the performance of its functions.

The Task Force is mandated to revise and update the Strategic El Niño National Action Plan, monitor the implementation of short and long-term solutions and programs identified in the Strategic El Niño National Action Plan, and coordinate with all concerned agencies in expediting the completion of all ongoing water infrastructure projects intended to cushion or mitigate the impacts of the dry spell not later than end of April 2024.

It is also tasked to coordinate with the Presidential Communications Office (PCO) in conducting massive information campaign on the El Niño phenomenon, and submit to the President, through the Office of the Executive Secretary, a monthly report on the implementation of the Order.

In coordination with the DOST, the Task Force is also directed to establish the El Niño Online Platform, which will serve as a centralized repository for a wide range of data, research, and information concerning El Niño, such as interactive maps and visualizations, as well as well-informed, data-driven plans and programs related to El Niño.

Last year, a National Action Plan Framework was crafted to fortify communities against the effects of El Niño by focusing on five key sectors—water supply, agriculture, electricity, health, and public safety, and with corresponding key priority interventions to be implemented by concerned government agencies.

Recent monitoring and analysis by the DOST-Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration have revealed that the warm sea surface temperature in the central and eastern tropical Pacific has fully evolved into El Niño as of July 2023.

PAGASA reported that it continues to exhibit signs of intensification with majority of global climate models suggesting that El Niño will likely persist until the second quarter of 2024. (PND)