Marcos Tells Pinoys To Conserve Water, Energy In Preparation For El Niño

President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. urged the public and local government to conserve water and energy to prepare for the dry spell in relation to the upcoming El Niño which is expected to last until the first quarter of 2024.

Marcos made the appeal in a vlog post on YouTube over the weekend noting that the country's power demand far exceeds supply. He also said the 35% reduction in rainfall expected in some parts of the country due to El Niño could affect the supply of several dams and their irrigation and hydropower production allocations.

"As we increase our supply of power, let's combine this with energy-saving measures. Not just on the use of air conditioners and electric fans, there are appliances or electronics that we can reduce the use of to help with this goal as we have been doing during Earth Hour," the President said on his Saturday vlog post.

"It's noticeable that the temperature is higher compared to the previous summer season... the El Niño alert has been raised and expected from June to August, maybe until the first quarter of next year," Marcos said as translated in English by the Philippine Star.

The president went on to discuss the problems brought about by the El Niño phenomenon.

"The heat index recorded by the DOST-PAGASA (Department of Science and Technology – Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration) reached 47 degrees centigrade while the relative humidity is very high. This is why even if we go out for just a while, we sweat a lot," he said.

Earlier, Marcos asked local governments to help educate the public about practicing water and energy conservation to mitigate the effects of El Niño.

"The DILG (Department of the Interior and Local Government) was instructed to present to the LGU's our campaign to mitigate the impact of El Niño such as saving water at home, in car washes, in watering the golf course and refilling swimming pools" the President also said in his vlog as quoted by the Manila Standard.

"This is expected to help maintain our supply. We all have something to help, we all have something to do," he added.

Marcos also recalled in his vlog, the signing of an agreement extending the service contract of the Malampaya gas field until 2039. Malampaya, the country's only indigenous commercial source of natural gas, supplies some 2,000 megawatts of power to Luzon, the Manila Standard noted.

Aside from this, Marcos also inaugurated a 160-megawatt wind farm in Ilocos Norte, which is expected to supply power to over 123,000 homes in the region.