COTABATO CITY — Two officials of a political party holding eight seats in the 80-member Bangsamoro parliament on Tuesday called on regional lawmakers to prioritize measures to mitigate the effects of El Niño on communities across the autonomous region.

Most residents of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) rely largely on the cultivation of short-term crops for income — a livelihood feared to be stifled by the prolonged absence of rain expected under the El Niño weather phenomenon. Short-gestation crops depend on regular rainfall through their quick production cycles, leaving little room for buffer when the rains fail.

Basilan Governor Mujiv S. Hataman and his Lanao del Sur counterpart, Mamintal A. Adiong, Jr., said separately on Tuesday that they were confident BARMM Chief Minister Abdulraof A. Macacua and all the other lawmakers would promptly initiate measures to cushion the impact of El Niño on the region's agriculture sector.

El Niño, caused by the warming of ocean surface temperatures, is already being felt in many tropical areas of the Pacific region.

Radio stations in BARMM reported last week that the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA), the state weather bureau, had announced that El Niño would possibly be felt more intensely in the country this month, lasting until the middle of 2027 — a horizon that stretches well beyond a single cropping season for the region's farm-dependent households.

"We know our now duly nominated regional chief minister will listen to our request for him and all other members of the parliament to plan out measures to mitigate the impact of the El Niño to residents of the autonomous region," Mr. Hataman said.

Officials of the influential Bangsamoro Business Council, widely known as the BBC, and their chairman, Ronald Hallid D. Torres, had separately told reporters they were ready to help, if tapped, in planning activities meant to ease the effects of El Niño on communities in the autonomous region.

Officials of the BBC's chapters in BARMM's five provinces and three cities, most of them engaged in agricultural enterprises, had told reporters that local executives ought to help the Bangsamoro parliament plan how to address the potentially serious effects of El Niño on farmers and livestock raisers in the autonomous region.

How the 80-member parliament acts on the request, and whether the business council is formally tapped as it has offered, will indicate the shape and timing of the region's El Niño response in the months ahead.

— John Felix M. Unson, BusinessWorld

Source: BusinessWorld