Through the National Water Resources Board (NWRB), the Marcos administration is coming up with ways to store rainwater that the country may use during the dry season, an official said Saturday.
&ldquo;Sa ngayon po ang tinitingnan natin is kung papaano ito ma-divert sa mga facilities na kapag panahon naman ng tag-init ay mapakinabang po natin sa water supply, sa irrigation,&rdquo; NWRB Executive Director Sevillo David Jr. said in a media forum in Quezon City.
&ldquo;So, tama po kayo na ang isa nating tingnan diyan is iyong papaano natin maiipon at mako-conserve itong mga tubig-ulan na mapakinabangan natin kapag mayroong panahon ng tagtuyot at lalo pa kapag summer season, at malaki po ang pakinabang natin doon,&rdquo; the NWRB head said.
Last month, the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) issued an El Ni&ntilde;o Watch.
&ldquo;Ang El Ni&ntilde;o Watch po kasi ay ini-issue kapag ini-expect natin within the next six months ay mataas ang probability na magkaroon ng El Ni&ntilde;o, and sa kasalukuyan ganoon nga po ang kondisyon and actually we&rsquo;re expecting that to continue next year, until next year, mid next year,&rdquo; said Marcelino Villafuerte, Chief of the Climate Impact Assessment and Application of the Climatology and Agrometeorology Division, in the same forum.
The PAGASA official further noted that this may be raised to an Alert Status in May.
&ldquo;So, sa ngayon pa lang nag-issue tayo ng El Ni&ntilde;o Watch and ini-expect natin by next month, by May ay baka ma-increase na natin ito &lsquo;no, doon sa alert status&hellip; Iyong Alert naman ay there&rsquo;s a 70 percent chance na matuloy na itong El Ni&ntilde;o within two months,&rdquo; he noted.
David also appealed to the public to conserve water amid the looming long dry spell or El Ni&ntilde;o phenomenon.
&ldquo;Mas gusto po nating i-advocate iyong tamang paggamit, water conservation po&hellip; Ang publiko ay malaki po ang maitutulong dito sa pamamagitan po ng tamang paggamit ng tubig &ndash; iyong water conservation,&rdquo; he said.
The NWRB chief said they will coordinate with the Presidential Communications Office (PCO) and other state agencies in coming up with tips on conserving water for the public.
The NWRB manages and regulates all water resources and services in the country.
President Marcos has earlier directed different government agencies to make the necessary preparations and come up with a whole-of-government strategy to address the El Ni&ntilde;o phenomenon that may hit the country this year until early next year.
Two specific instructions given by the President are the adoption of a whole-of-government or whole-of-nation approach and putting up protocol-based and scientific long-term processes that could be adopted by the country.
The chief executive in February approved the creation of a Water Resource Management Office (WRMO) to manage the country&rsquo;s water resources and respond to the current environmental challenges.
The WRMO, which will be under the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, will be a transitory body pending the creation of the Department of Water Resources.
Its main functions include formulating and ensuring the implementation of the Integrated Water Management Plan, which will integrate various plans of different agencies.

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Marcos admin to find ways to manage water resources for dry season