MANILA, Philippines — Senator Erwin Tulfo on Wednesday, September 30, sounded the alarm over the impending 2026-2027 “Super El Niño,” urging national agencies to immediately bolster preparations to mitigate severe disruptions to public health, energy, agriculture, and water distribution.
Delivering a privilege speech, Tulfo declared that the nation stands “at the edge of a climate catastrophe” and pressed for swift, tangible interventions based on early meteorological forecasts.
“The Palace has already announced that the President directed the preparation of an El Niño Task Force, with particular attention to protecting our farmers and strengthening irrigation,” Tulfo noted.
“This is an important step but a task force must be more than a coordinating body. It must have a clear plan, clear responsibilities, and, most importantly, the resources to act before the crisis paralyzes our communities,” he emphasized.
Pointing to figures from the Department of Agriculture (DA), the lawmaker highlighted that agricultural damages had already climbed to ₱6.87 billion as of September 26, impacting 223,214 farmers nationwide.
He warned that an extended dry spell would exacerbate crop losses, reduce farmers’ income, and trigger spikes in basic food prices that would heaviest hit low-income households.
To cushion the blow, Tulfo urged relevant authorities to pinpoint high-risk agricultural zones, identify resilient crops, fortify irrigation networks, and guarantee direct relief to affected farming communities.
He also reiterated the urgent need to enact legislation creating a Department of Water Resources to centralize water security management during prolonged dry spells.
“The water that we use for our homes, farms, industries, and power generation is one resource that needs to be managed early and properly,” Tulfo stressed.
“We cannot wait until our reservoirs are critically depleted before we begin managing demand, protecting water sources, and preparing our power system for the consequences of prolonged dry conditions,” he added.
Beyond agricultural and resource threats, Tulfo underscored the severe public health risks associated with extreme heat, cautioning that heat indices could surge to between 52 and 55 degrees Celsius by early 2027.
He cited projections estimating up to 6,500 heat-related deaths nationwide if proactive measures are not put in place.
He called on the Department of Health (DOH) to roll out grass-roots awareness campaigns targeting barangays to prevent dehydration, heat stroke, and related medical emergencies.
“Our hospitals, local governments, schools, workplaces, and communities must have clear, actionable protocols before the worst condition arrives, not after,” Tulfo insisted.
The senator appealed to Senate Deputy Majority Leader JV Ejercito, who chairs the Senate Committee on Finance, to ensure sufficient budgetary allocations for agency readiness, while pressing the committees on health, energy, agriculture, environment, and social services to pool their efforts.
“Let us not wait for our fields to turn to ash, our taps to run dry, and our people to collapse from the heat before we scramble for solutions,” Tulfo warned.
“We have the science. We have the warnings. It is time to stop managing disasters after they happen, and start executing a decisive, proactive survival strategy.”