Davao Oriental braces for El Niño, races to secure water supply

DAVAO CITY (September 9) — Davao Oriental is racing to secure water sources before a looming strong El Niño deepens dry conditions, with the provincial government preparing to deploy new technology to locate underground water and asking municipalities to tap their calamity funds for emergency measures.

Governor Nelson Dayanghirang said Tuesday that he would soon issue an executive order creating an El Niño Task Force to coordinate the province’s preparations and response to the expected drought conditions.

He said he had already convened the province’s municipal mayors and urged them to use their respective calamity funds to cushion communities from the impact of the prolonged dry spell.

“Our budget is almost exhausted since the year is almost done. That’s why I advised the mayors to utilize their calamity fund,” Dayanghirang said in a press briefing.

A major concern is access to water.

The province’s geo-resistivity equipment is scheduled to arrive on Sept. 14 and will be deployed to barangays and municipalities to help identify areas with sufficient underground water before wells are drilled.

“It will detect underground water sufficiency so our investments don’t go to waste,” Dayanghirang said.

The technology uses subsurface electrical resistance to identify underground water-bearing formations or aquifers. Local personnel will undergo a five-day training before the equipment is deployed.

The governor said the province has repeatedly spent money installing pipes and other water infrastructure only to discover that the areas lacked sufficient underground water.

“We keep installing pipes only to find out there’s no water underneath. With this machine, our time and money won’t go to waste,” he said.

The province’s preparations come as the country faces the prospect of worsening El Niño conditions.

The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) said a moderate to strong El Niño is currently present in the Tropical Pacific and is expected to persist until the first half of 2027. The phenomenon could intensify to a very strong El Niño before the end of 2026.

PAGASA has warned that much of the country could experience below-normal rainfall as the phenomenon strengthens.

For September, below-normal rainfall is expected over most of Northern Luzon, while near-normal rainfall is forecast in the rest of the country.

By October, below-normal rainfall is projected across Luzon, the Visayas and Caraga, while the rest of Mindanao is expected to experience near-normal rainfall.

For Davao Oriental, the challenge is now to prepare before water shortages become a crisis.

The planned task force, use of local calamity funds and deployment of the geo-resistivity equipment are part of the province’s effort to ensure that communities have access to water as El Niño intensifies.