P183-M La Niña relief aid set for Central Luzon

The government has readied P183.41 million in assistance to those likely to be affected by the looming La Niña in Central Luzon, considered the country’s rice granary, President Marcos announced yesterday.

- Helen Flores

“And now that the rainy season (has) arrived, your government is prepared for any impact it may have,” the President said during the distribution of assistance to El Niño-hit farmers and fisherfolk in Baler, Aurora.

“We already have pre-positioned relief supplies worth over P180 million for the entire Region 3,” Marcos said.

Of the figure, P5 million will serve as a standby fund, P155.2 million for 204,577 food packs and P23.1 million for non-food items, the Presidential Communications Office (PCO) said in a statement.

La Niña, a weather phenomenon associated with above normal rainfall, is expected to follow El Niño, which had caused drought in many parts of the country in the past several past months.

State climatologists said there is a 55 percent probability that La Niña may emerge in the last quarter of this year and persist until the first quarter of 2025.