President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has issued a directive to members of his Cabinet regarding the steps that must be taken to address the threat of a Super El Niño.

On May 27, the President convened concerned government agencies that are primarily tasked with responding to the effects of the phenomenon.

In a statement, Executive Secretary Ralph Recto said the administration is now studying the government's response to the looming El Niño.

"Ang Pangulo pinag-aaralan na rin natin 'yong response ng ating pamahalaan pagdating sa El Niño. Dahil, we might have a severe El Niño. So we looked at the past, what did Government do, what worked. And nagpaplano na tayo diyan para maibsan 'yong epekto ng El Niño sa ating lahat," Recto said. 

(The President — we are also studying the response of our government when it comes to El Niño. Because we might have a severe El Niño. So we looked at the past, what did the Government do, what worked. And we are now planning so that we can mitigate the effects of El Niño on all of us.)

Meanwhile, several farmer groups have raised concerns over the apparent lack of government action on the impact of El Niño on their livelihoods.

The groups stressed that the government should already detail the necessary preparations for the agriculture sector.

Federation of Free Farmers Chairman Leonardo Montemayor said farmers need clearer direction from both national and local government units.

"Halimbawa sa agrikultura, isa sa sector na pinaka-affected itong parating na El Niño ay ating agriculture fisheries sectors, pero until now hindi maliwanag sa amin sector kung ano dapat gawin nila. Kailangan nila diyan direksyon o information, guidance mula sa ating pamahalaan, both at the national as well as the local government levels," Montemayor said. 

(For example, in agriculture — one of the sectors most affected by this upcoming El Niño is our agriculture and fisheries sectors, but until now it is not clear to us in the sector what they should do. They need direction or information, guidance from our government, both at the national as well as the local government levels.)