MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Agriculture (DA) has assured House members that allocated funds are fully available under its 2026 budget to bankroll robust interventions against the looming super El Niño.
Agriculture Assistant Secretary for Operations U-Nichols Manalo provided the assurance during the House Committee on Agriculture and Food’s inquiry into the country’s El Niño preparedness under House Resolution (HR) No. 967.
Addressing queries from Quezon Province 1st District Representative Wilfrido Mark Enverga, chairperson of the committee, regarding whether the funds were already ready for deployment, Manalo confirmed the financial backing.
“Yes, sir, this is chargeable to 2026,” Manalo said in reference to the DA’s allocation under the 2026 General Appropriations Act (GAA).
The agency previously unveiled its ₱61.99-billion consolidated action plan on October 19, which incorporates ₱6.2 billion already released under the government’s Unified Package for Livelihoods, Industry, Food, and Transport (UPLIFT) program.
Looking ahead to 2027, Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. has also cited a proposed ₱10-billion allocation for the Presidential Assistance for Farmers and Fisherfolk program, pending the enactment of next year’s national budget.
Operating as the head of the government’s food security cluster, the DA is coordinating its mitigation framework around three core objectives: sustaining agricultural production, minimizing income losses among agricultural workers, and keeping food affordable for consumers.
The largest share of the proposed interventions—amounting to ₱35 billion—is designated for crop production inputs such as seeds, planting materials, and fertilizers. Concurrently, the agency is advancing water management frameworks through the construction and rehabilitation of irrigation systems, solar-powered facilities, and small water impounding projects.
Collaborating with the Bureau of Soils and Water Management, PAGASA, and the Philippine Air Force, the DA is actively executing cloud seeding operations, noting active interventions in Pantabangan and Bohol while requesting additional funding to sustain them.
The agency’s October 19 blueprint also identified ₱371 million worth of proposed measures still requiring full funding, including specialized cloud seeding and solutions to manage the red-striped soft scale insect affecting sugarcane crops.
To mitigate financial distress, the DA highlighted crop insurance and specialized disaster financing via the Agricultural Credit Policy Council. Under the UPLIFT initiative, approximately ₱3 billion has been distributed for fuel and transport aid, divided evenly across the farming, fishing, and trucking sectors.
Consumer-focused safeguards—such as market surveillance, price monitoring, transport support, and Kadiwa ng Pangulo caravans—are likewise being heavily deployed.