‘Proactive steps needed vs. El Niño’

By Macon Ramos-Araneta and Rio N. Araja

SENATE Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel III has stressed that the staggering economic implications highlight the importance of proactive and preventive measures to mitigate the impact of the water crisis and El Niño.

Meanwhile, 4Ps party-list Rep. Marcelino Libanan said while the Philippines is on track to lead its Southeast Asian neighbors in economic growth and jobs creation in the months ahead, severe El Niño weather conditions could pose a significant risk.

Pimentel said it is very crucial for President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to use the State of the Nation Address (SONA) as a platform to present long-term strategies and sustainable solutions that can cushion the effects of water shortage and El Niño.

He cited a study by Columbia University which indicated that the El Niño event of 1997-1998 left 70 percent of the Philippines Pimentel also mentioned the statement by the Union Bank of the Philippines chief economist Ruben Carlo Asuncion that a strong El Niño event could lead to national gross domestic product (GDP) losses of up to $3.3 billion.

As the country grapples with a recurring water shortage and the looming threat of El Niño, Pimentel urged President Marcos to prioritize long-term measures to address these pressing issues in his second SONA on Monday (July 24).

“It’s not just Maharlika Investment Fund,” he quipped.

He emphasized the urgent need to address the water crisis and mitigate the im- pact of El Niño, particularly on agricultural productivity and the livelihood of farmers, the most vulnerable to El Niño.

“The adverse effects of water shortage and El Niño have far-reaching consequences on various sectors of the economy,” Pimentel said.

He pointed out that past droughts and water crises have caused a significant toll on the economy, business, agriculture, power generation, public health, and natural resources, among others.

Last March, the President himself acknowledged the gravity of the water crisis, stating that 11 million families lack access to clean water as the dry season approaches.

PA holds

forum to boost soldiers’ professionalism

THE Philippine Army (PA) through the Office of the Assistant Chief of Staff for Plans (OG-5), held its 10th Strategic Forum which organized key Army officers to pursue professional and organizational development at the Army headquarters in Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City last July 20.

The event, anchored on the theme “Forging Strategic Minds: Unpacking Uncertainties of the Operating Environment,” aimed to equip the participants with a basic appreciation of key geostrategic issues affecting the region, as well as military responses to the increasingly complicated cognitive domain.

Resource persons from the Department of National Defense (DND), the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), and the academe shared perspectives on the operational environment’s complexities and the cognitive domain’s intricacies. Vince Lopez

Barbers calls for strict regulation of AI tech

SURIGAO del Norte Rep. Robert Ace Barbers on Sunday urged policy-makers in the legislative and the executive branches to urgently tackle the creation of an agency tasked to craft guidelines on governance and ethics and act as “guardrail” in the use, development and implementation of a national artificial intelligence strategy.

Barbers said regulators across the world from the United States of America, Great Britain, European Union, and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations are currently rushing to draft regulations to govern the use of the booming AI technology.

He earlier filed a bill calling for the creation of a “superbody” to be known as Artificial Intelligence Development Authority (AIDA) to oversee the development and deployment of AI technologies, ensuring compliance with AI ethics principles and guidelines, and protecting the rights and welfare of individuals and communities affected by AI technologies. Rio N. Araja