Gov’t to revive ‘Green Revolution’ for Super El Niño response – Marcos

SINGAPORE – President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said the government will teach the public how to collect, save, and reuse water as part of its response to the anticipated effects of Super El Niño on the country.

“Part of that public service and those public service messages will be, collect, bumili na kayo ng balde para ‘pag umulan, makolekta na ninyo lahat. Tuturuan namin kayo – we’ll give you how to fil – ‘yung gamot para maging malinis. We’ll give you the filter,” Marcos stated in a press briefing on the last day of his five-day working visit to Singapore on Sunday, October 11.

“We’ll teach you how to do everything para hindi kayo magkasakit at maayos ang pag-treat ng tubig, pag-filter ng tubig. And it will be healthy even for little children,” he added.

The World Meteorological Organization said Thursday that this year’s El Niño will intensify before peaking in December and is nearly 100% certain to last until February 2027 with sea surface temperatures set to break records.

The intense phenomenon is seen to hit various sectors, with agriculture expected to suffer the most from reduced rainfall.

Apart from collecting and filtering water, Marcos also wants to encourage the public to plant their own vegetables.

“The only thing that will be hard hit will be vegetables kasi walang tubig. Tuyot lahat. So sabi ko, balikan natin ‘yung Green Revolution. Let’s encourage everybody,” he said.

“Naka-Green Revolution na tayo noon, a long time ago. Tapos noong pandemic, nabuhay ‘yung ‘plantita’. Ituloy na natin ‘yun. Let’s just keep that going. Get everybody to plant their own vegetables,” Marcos added, saying that while it will not solve the entire problem, it will help create an impact.

The Chief Executive assured enough rice supply now that the country is in harvest season, but noted, “it’s the next season that we need to be thinking about.”

“So, I said, ‘let us secure, manigurado na tayo.’ You know, alam niyo naman, hanggat maaari, ayaw ko mag-import. Pero sabi ko, mag-import na kayo para tiyak tayo na mayroon tayong supply. Kahit na imported. Syempre, we’ll produce as much as we possibly can. Pero mabuti na ‘yung sigurado,” he said.

Pork and beef products are also “sufficient” while chicken has an “oversupply,” causing a reduction in market prices, according to the President.

Marcos said relevant government agencies will submit detailed reports on the El Niño response this week as he returns to the Philippines from his five-day working visit to Singapore.

“So, we should all prepare. We really should all—we should take it. We’re taking this very, very seriously,” he said.