Philippine Officials Urge Rapid Spending for Super El Nino

Philippine lawmakers and executive officials urged government agencies on October 8, 2026, to accelerate preparations, spending, and procurement for an expected Super El Niño that is forecast to persist through the first half of 2027. Malacañang directed departments to speed up implementation of priority response programs during the fourth quarter, while senators called for immediate crisis committee coordination and infrastructure reviews to protect agriculture, water supplies, and public services.

Executive Secretary Orders Rapid Spending and Procurement

Malacañang ordered government agencies to accelerate spending and preparations for the intensifying weather phenomenon during an October 8 meeting led by Executive Secretary Ralph Recto, philstar.com reported. Recto assessed agency spending performance and emphasized the need for early procurement preparations for next year’s programs so that projects begin promptly and support economic growth.

We have one more quarter to improve spending for the year. Let’s get our acts together in the fourth quarter. Spend and start doing early procurement, especially on programs that would strengthen our response against El Niño, Recto said in a statement reported by philstar.com.

Recto urged agencies to sustain a 7.5 percent growth in government disbursements from the first three quarters of 2026. Priority interventions target farmers and fisherfolk through solar-powered seed cold storage facilities and irrigation systems, alongside procurement for education, health, infrastructure, transport, cash assistance, and employment support.

Senators Call for Crisis Committee Reconvening and Budget Reviews

Sen. Bam Aquino urged Senate President Sherwin Gatchalian to reconvene the Proactive Response and Oversight for Timely and Effective Crisis Strategy Committee to align government preparations, newsinfo.inquirer.net reported. Originally formed in March 2026 to address Middle East conflicts and oil supplies, the Protect Committee is chaired by Gatchalian.

May I respectfully request the reconvening of the Proactive Response and Oversight for Timely and Effective Crisis Strategy (Protect) Committee to assess and align government preparations? Aquino said in a letter cited by The Manila Times.

Aquino stressed that coordination must cover agriculture, water supply, food security, education, health, livelihoods, and micro, small, and medium enterprises. Meanwhile, Sen. Francis Pangilinan filed Senate Resolution No. 515, directing the Senate agriculture committee to check if agency budgets and contingency plans are sufficient, noting in a radio DWIZ interview reported by newsinfo.inquirer.net that agencies must step up public information drives.

Water Authority Assesses Infrastructure and Supply Projects

Local Water Utilities Administration Administrator Jose Moises Salonga stated that PAGASA’s projection of meteorological drought across regions such as Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, Western Visayas, Caraga, the Cordillera Administrative Region, Soccsksargen, Northern Mindanao, and the Davao Region means a lack of rainfall rather than a total absence of water supply, ABS-CBN reported.

Meteorological drought, meaning konti ang ulan. Hindi sinasabing walang tubig… magiging disyerto ang Pilipinas. Walang gano’n, Salonga said in an interview broadcast on Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon and covered by ABS-CBN.

Salonga discouraged panic buying of bottled water and noted that the LWUA released P12 billion out of P17 billion for roughly 800 infrastructure projects to ensure long-term water reliability. Complementing those efforts, philstar.com reported that the Department of Environment and Natural Resources is preparing water-allocation strategies, planning to reactivate 59 deep wells, and placing 135 stationary and 105 mobile water tankers on standby in Cavite, Rizal, Laguna, and San Mateo.

Economic Growth and Next Steps for Infrastructure Deployment

Recto stated that accelerated fourth-quarter spending will allow the government to fully catch up in the first quarter of 2027. Additional water supply facilities from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources are scheduled to come online by the end of 2026 and the first quarter of 2027.

Recto’s office announced plans to meet directly with local government units to address site-specific ground conditions, as El Niño impacts will vary by region. The Department of Energy added that the national power grid maintains adequate supplies and coordinates closely with generation companies to prevent outages.