TABUK CITY, Kalinga – Had the recommendation of the Office of the Provincial Agriculturist (OPAG) for the declaration of a state of calamity due to the severe effects of the El Nino been acted upon immediately, a sizable portion of the 1,770 hectares in the province then classified as affected by the drought but with chances of recovery would not have been lost.
“When the Provincial Agriculturist submitted his recommendation for the declaration of state of calamity on the second week of March, the crops in the 1,770 hectares were still salvageable. We believe that had the recommendation been promptly and favorably acted upon, most of the crops would have been saved. But now it is too late,” Jose Casibang, Kalinga GMA Rice Program Coordinator, said.