Sto. Tomas under state of emergency
STO. TOMAS town, a leading corn producer, has been declared by the town council under a state of emergency due to the El Niño phenomenon.
The Sangguniang Bayan, chaired by Vice Mayor Dick Villar, passed a resolution on Feb. 8 informing Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap about the declaration after receiving the municipal agriculturist’s report that the town is experiencing severe drought.
So far 374 hectares planted with rice for the current cropping season and 482 hectares for corn are affected.
Local farmers have asked the local government for assistance.
“…the local officials are very much alarmed that agricultural production for this cropping season will be badly affected and per capita income will decrease,” said the resolution sponsored by Councilors Marcelo Castanaga and Wilfredo Pescador.
Villar said alongside the declaration of a state of emergency, which gives the local government access to an emergency fund, immediate mitigations will have to be undertaken, pointing out that the local government could only do so much and more assistance will have to come from the national government.
ON WITH THE FIESTA
Meanwhile, notwithstanding the drought, townsfolk remained in an upbeat mood Wednesday for the celebration of the town’s 102nd founding anniversary.
The traditional annual grilling of corn along the town’s main street was held with more than 6,000 sweet corn ears cooked on 102 grill pads.
The town bagged the Guinness World Record for Longest Barbecue in 2008 for its 3,803.96 meter-long corn grill.
Mayor Vivien Villar said this year’s relatively simple fiesta was meant to relive that achievement and also in celebration of their inclusion in the 2010 edition of the Guinness Book of Records.
“We dedicate this victory to you all…this is for the good people of Sto. Tomas,” Villar said.#
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