The Philippines northernmost island-province, the Province of Batanes which is known in the Philippines as one of the places frequently hits by typhoons declared a state of calamity as the province experienced a prolonged dry spell.
The provincial officials of the province declared that the entire Batanes is now under a state of calamity, citing a report from the provincial agriculture office that showed that provinces losing P10 million worth of crops and livestocks due to the absence of strong rain.
Batanes Governor Vicente Gato, asked the provincial board of Batanes to declare a state of calamity. In a report posted by Cesary Hostallero, officer in charge of the provincial agriculture office, he noted that “The prolonged dry spell throughout the province (in) the past months has significantly affected productivity at the farm level since vegetables required a considerable amount of rainfall for optimum yield,” the report stated.
Aside from the reasons of the prolonged dry spell in the province of Batanges, the local agricultural officials also noted that Bagyong Ineng, which hit the province last month, damaged crops and utilities in the province.
The declaration of Batanes under the state of calamity will help the provincial government to use its calamity fund to repair the local water and electricity distribution systems damaged by the recent typhoon that hit the province of Batanes.
