Loren Legarda Unveils 10-Point El Niño Plan on Water, Heat Safety, and Livelihoods

Senator Loren Legarda has released a 10-point policy action plan calling for immediate local measures to protect communities from water shortages, extreme heat, and livelihood losses associated with a strong to very strong El Niño.

The proposals cover schools, households, workers, Indigenous communities, fisherfolk, farmers, and small businesses. They follow her filing of Senate Resolution No. 733, which seeks scrutiny of government preparedness and the adequacy of existing programs and funding.

The call comes as PAGASA’s October 7 monitoring update reported a strong to very strong El Niño in the tropical Pacific, potentially peaking before the end of 2026 and continuing into the first half of 2027.

Legarda urged agencies and local government units to prioritize practical interventions using available resources.

“We don’t need complicated policies written on paper. What the people are looking for are practical, concrete, and easy to do solutions,” she said.

Her plan outlines the following proposed actions:

1. Install rainwater catchments in public schools. Deploy modular rain barrels and gutter diverters to capture rainfall and help maintain water for sanitation during shortages.
2. Make essential household water more affordable. Propose emergency charges on high-volume, non-essential commercial water use, with proceeds supporting water bills for low-income urban families.
3. Protect workers from extreme heat. Shift heavy outdoor work to cooler hours when the heat index exceeds 42°C. The plan also proposes climate hazard pay when rescheduling is not possible.
4. Support Indigenous forest guards. Establish a Payment for Ecosystem Services arrangement compensating Indigenous communities for protecting upstream forests and watersheds.
5. Provide heat-safety support for fisherfolk. Subsidize specialized first-aid kits for municipal fisherfolk and propose linking their provision to boat licensing.
6. Open public cooling centers. Explore partnerships with malls and adapt barangay halls or other public spaces to provide temporary relief, drinking water, and resting areas.
7. Help reduce heat inside homes. Distribute subsidized heat-reflective white roof paint to low-income communities to help reduce heat absorption.
8. Develop drought-resilient community gardens. Prioritize indigenous trees and drought-resistant root crops in Geographically Isolated and Disadvantaged Areas to support food supply and natural shade.
9. Help farmers switch to drought-hardy crops. Pair conditional cash assistance with hands-on field coaching to help farmers manage the costs and uncertainty of changing crops.
10. Create faster financial assistance mechanisms. Develop parametric climate insurance, where payouts depend on predefined weather triggers. The plan also proposes a People’s Survival Fund financing window for eligible insurance-premium subsidies.

These measures form a proposed policy framework. The announcement does not establish that the suggested water charges, hazard pay, licensing conditions, or insurance subsidies are already in force.

Legarda emphasized the need to move quickly while identifying the communities and sectors facing the greatest risks.

“We also need to be innovative and maximize the resources and funds that are already available to us,” she said.

The plan places local implementation at the center of preparedness, linking water conservation and heat protection with support for food production and household incomes.

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