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Did President Marcos' advice to buy buckets for rainwater collection deserve the online backlash?

In this interview with Howie Severino, environmental scientist Dr. Rodel Lasco explains why preparing for a prolonged drought and water shortage requires both simple household water conservation and long-term government planning.

Watch the full discussion on how the Philippines can brace for El Niño and future water crises here: The Godzilla El Niño
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Transcript
00:03Okay, we all heard the President, President Marcos, suggesting to everyone na bumili na ng mga balde para makakollect ng
00:14rainwater
00:15kasi nga, maubusan ng tubig at baka mag-water rationing, etc.
00:20And part of that public service, those public service messages will be collect, bumili na kayo ng balde para pag
00:27-umulan, makakollectan na ninyo lahat.
00:30Tuturuan namin kayo na we'll give you how to feel yung gamot para maging malinis.
00:35Ang dami nag-react doon sa sinabi ni Pangulong Marcos na bumili na ng mga balde yung mga household.
00:42Pero kayo, anong naging reaction nyo doon? Was there some common sense there?
00:46Or do you think he deserved all of the taunting and bashing that he got for suggesting something so seemingly
00:56simple?
00:59Well, pag malalas natin how we, merong a few years ago, parang ganito rin nangyari.
01:06If you look at the headlines and news, parang riots, Manila dahil walang tubig.
01:11And then soon after, or the reverse, now na yata yung bagyo, sunod-sunod flooding.
01:17Now, within weeks or months, biglang yung headline news talaga is riots because of lack of water.
01:23So I can understand where it's coming from.
01:25Gusto niya, of course, siguro masindaki yung mga kababayan natin na malala ito.
01:31It's not something to take lightly.
01:33And so, in a way, practical, we really have.
01:37But I think the message behind it is talagang maghanda tayo sa tagtuyot and let's learn to be conserving whatever
01:44water resources we have.
01:46Huwag natin sayangin.
01:47I think that that should be the underlying message na kailangan natin makuha doon sa sinabi niyang Pangulo.
01:54Okay, ang publiko kasi mas sanay maghanda para sa bagyo, di ba?
02:00Kaya may alert system tayo and all of that.
02:03And then, you know, we call off classes depending on the typhoon signal, no?
02:10Pero ano yung dapat preparations para sa isang prolonged drought?
02:17Hindi naman ito mga one or two days lang na pangyayari.
02:20Okay, well, Howie, of course, ang preparation should be much ahead, no?
02:26Much, much earlier.
02:28And you might say na pwede nating maisip na hindi naman pwedeng biglaan ito, no?
02:34Like talking about water resources, may mga groundwater tayo, may mga surface water, may mga dumps tayo, may mga maintenance
02:43lahat yan.
02:44Hindi naman talaga kaya makuha overnight ito.
02:47So, for one, lalo din yung mga policymakers natin, we should think long term.
02:52Kasi nga, recurrent ito.
02:54Hindi naman ang ilang mangyayaring LN nyo.
02:57We know it happens every, kaya nga inter-annual variability, ang tawag dito, no?
03:02Ng mga scientist, mga around five years or so, dumarating yan.
03:07So, hindi na dapat tayo talagang palagi nagugulat.
03:10So, I think preparation should start long term.
03:15Of course, this is a challenge.
03:16Yung mga politicians natin, ang time frame nila, alam mo naman yan, three years, six years, maikli, no?
03:23So, pero yun ang foundation.
03:24Without that foundation, parang band-aid ang mangyayari, no?
03:27So, palagi tayong magbaband-aid, ito na nga, yung malapit na, and then kailangan mag-gawin tayo.
03:36So, meron din namang pwede magawa.
03:38Pag talagang andyan na malapit na, make sense.
03:41Yung rainwater harvesting, pinopromote yan kahit sa mga rural areas.
03:45And then just the simple water conservation.
03:48Hindi natin napapansin.
03:50Minsan, nakabukas yung gripo habang nagtutututpress tayo, di ba?
03:54Yung mga ganong kasimple, pero if you multiply that, millions of households, talagang matindi effect.
04:01So, what I'm saying is, merong mga systemic, long term, strategic, meron din namang more, ngayon na, tactical, ano?
04:09Na parang pwede natin gawin.
04:11So, kailangan magkasama yun.
04:13Otherwise, puro band-aid tayo, hawi, ano?
04:16Kailangan magtulungan yun, yung long term, tsaka yung day-to-day conservation.
04:23Okay, we've had El Nino's before, pero how does this one, itong 2026, 2027 Super El Nino, break that mold?
04:34How is this going to be different?
04:38Guys, siguro, nakalam na mga nakikinig sa atin, grabe yung media coverage.
04:42Kasi nga, based on yung panukat, yung metric na ginagamit ng mga scientists, this is a record-breaking.
04:50So, for example, maalala natin, hawi, yung 97, 98, naalala mo pa yun?
04:551997, 98, ano?
04:57Isa yun sa mga nag-ula tayo, di ba?
04:59And parang yun ang record setter, eh.
05:02Mga 10 billion in damages, 700,000 hectares of agricultural land, mga farms na apektuhan nun.
05:10Inestimate mga 10 billion in damages nun.
05:14At yung pera natin ngayon, yung 10 billion nun, quickly lang, kinuint ako, back of the envelope, mga 30 billion
05:21na ngayon pesos ang damage ngayon, kung sa pera ngayon.
05:27Yung 2015, 2016, di ba, malakas din yan, mga 10 years ago, no?
05:32Half a million naman hectares, one half million hectares ang naapekto ka niyan, mga 15 to 16 billion in total
05:38damages.
05:40So, yung ngayon, mas matindi.
05:42So, I guess it will depend a lot on how prepared we are.
05:46Kasi nga, alam na naman natin, may experience tayo before, pero nakakagulat, sabi ng DA, di ba, nabasa na siguro
05:53ng iba sa atin, recently lang, more than 200,000 farmers na ang affected.
05:58And yung damage ngayon pa lang, 6 billion na, wala pa yung drought talaga, no?
06:036 billion na, to almost one third na nung 2015, 2016, ano?
06:10And so, ayan, kaya nakakabahala, no?
06:14Kasi, if this is the strongest El Nino ever, tapos, eh, hindi tayo handa, eh, yun, double wami yan.
06:22Kaya, talagang napakahalaga, no, paghahanda dito sa El Nino na to, Howie.
06:28Okay, kaya nga tinatawag na Godzilla itong El Nino na to, no?
06:33And sabi niyo nga, it's record-breaking.
06:35In other words, this is going to be the worst or the longest or the driest El Nino we've ever
06:43experienced since these kinds of events have been recorded, no?
06:49So, itong suggestion na kailangan mag-conserve ng tubig, I think we can all relate to this at the household
06:56level.
06:56Pero itong, and I guess that's a way for everyone to be involved, you know, in preparing, no?
07:03Pero itong sinasabi niyo yung effect sa farmland, sa agricultural production, no?
07:10Parang, how do you prepare for that?
07:13What can be done for the farmers para maiwasan yung worst effects nito?
07:19Napakahirap talaga, no?
07:21Awi, no, kung di tayo handa.
07:24For one thing, it may be a question sa mga magsasaka natin.
07:28Kung talagang ganun katuyo, magtatanim pa ba ako?
07:31No, kasi kung alam mo naman na talagang wala kang irrigation na limbawa, hindi mo kayang i-sustain, baka yung
07:37iba, hindi na tumuloy.
07:39Yung iba naman, they can shift to yung mga more drought-tolerant varieties or even crops, no?
07:46Pwede nilang gawin yan.
07:47For example, yung mga rice breeders natin, they're breeding more drought-tolerant, yung mga nakaka-survive.
07:56Actually, kahit baha, may binibreed din sila.
07:59Ganun din sa tagtuyo.
08:01So maybe yung DA natin, yung Department of Agriculture, can help farmers look at these options.
08:06Ano ba talagang gagawin nila?
08:08Magsishift sila or ng ibang variety or even total another crop altogether?
08:14O kaya naman, in worse scenarios, baka kailangan munang itigil nila yung farming, no?
08:20So, yung food supply, siyempre, yung food security, kakabit niya, no?
08:24Pag konti yung production, konti yung supply, yung presyo pwede yung mamahal.
08:29Tapos, of course, yung availability.
08:31And again, dito kailangan talaga ang tulong ng ating pamahalaan, no?
08:35Para makapaghanda, avoid yung hoarding.
08:38For example, baka may mag-hoard, take advantage of yung price fluctuation.
08:43So, eto yung mga paghahanda na sana, I hope, ginagawa na ng ating pamahalaan ngayon na palang avoid.

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