MURCIA Mayor Andrew Montelibano clarified Friday, April 12, that the municipal government has not yet released its calamity funds despite the declaration of a State of Calamity in the town due to a dry spell.
Montelibano said about a third, or 30 to 35 percent, of the crops have been damaged by the dry spell.
The Murcia Municipal Agriculture office reported that damage to crops has already reached P8.2 million.
"But right now we are assessing the situation. We'll see if there is recovery because of the rains in the past three days. But the damage has been done," Montelibano said.
He explained that there has been no rain since December 2018.
Montelibano said the town was placed under a State of Calamity to allow immediate access to the calamity funds.
"We hope that the rains will continue but if not and the heat resumes, then we could expect that the damage could worsen", Montelibano added.
The Municipality of Isabela has also declared a State of Calamity because of the extent of damage brought about by the dry spell caused by the El Niño conditions.
The Office of the Provincial Agriculturist initially reported P76.6 million worth of production losses in the province's rice, corn, high value commercial crops and fishery sectors.
This is on top of the P366 million in production losses on sugarcane earlier reported by the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA).
The Provincial Veterinary Office (PVO) also reported P3 million worth of damage to the local livestock and poultry industry.