Philippines eyes ‘green revolution’

SINGAPORE – The Marcos administration will embark on a campaign to encourage the public to reuse water and revive a “green revolution” to ease the impact of a “super El Niño.”

In a media interview on Sunday here, Marcos cited the need to think about ways to collect every drop of water from dams and households and explain to Filipinos the climate phenomenon.

“Part of that public service and those public service messages will be collect, buy buckets so that when it rains, you can collect everything,” Marcos said.

“We will teach you... We will give you the filter. We’ll teach you how to do everything so you will not get sick and you will treat water properly. And it will be healthy even for little children. So that’s water supply,” he added.

Vice President Sara Duterte said, “We can no longer expect anything from the President. I will not comment on his buckets.”

An El Niño information campaign is being prepared by the Office of the Vice President.

El Niño is projected to intensify in the coming months and persist through the first half of 2027.

‘Plantita’ revival

Marcos is pushing for a “green revolution” to ensure enough vegetable supply, which is expected to be hit hard by the dry spell due to potential water supply issues.

“Let us go back to the green revolution. Let’s encourage everybody. We had a green revolution before, a long time ago. Then, during the pandemic, the ‘plantita’ was revived. Let us continue that,” he said, referring to Filipinos who made planting a hobby during the lockdown.

“Let’s just keep that going. Get everybody to plant their own vegetables... It won’t solve the entire problem, but it will help,” he asserted.

In 1973, the late president Ferdinand Marcos Sr. launched a “green revolution” to boost food supply and nutrition efforts.

The project encouraged backyard planting of vegetables and fruits. — Bella Cariaso