BACOLOD CITY: Negros Occidental Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson said on Monday he is still not declaring a state of calamity amid the damage to agriculture due to drought caused by El Niño in the majority of the local government units (LGUs) in the province. Lacson reiterated that the provincial government has available funds to assist the farming sector, following the call of the United Sugar Producers Federation (UNIFED) to place the province under a state of calamity and buy a plane for cloudseeding operations. 'It cannot be done yet. There's still money that is available that we can give out. Once we have started giving out, we will see if there is still need for more,' he said in an interview. Although there are no exact figures yet on the damage to sugarcane in Negros Occidental, damage to rice and corn has reached almost PHP185 million in 25 out of 31 LGUs as of last week, based on the report of the Office of the Provincial Agriculturist. 'The problem is not the plane. Our experts are saying that we c annot do a cloudseeding. We can always rent a plane to do that like we have done before,' Lacson said. He noted that El Niño is not a regular occurrence, and buying an aircraft will entail more expenses for the province. 'I don't think the provincial government needs to buy a plane, but we do have money to rent a plane in cases like this,' the governor added. The declaration of a state of calamity allows an LGU to swiftly access emergency funds and resources, particularly the Quick Response Fund, to supplement local funds for emergency relief and rehabilitation efforts. In Negros Occidental, Kabankalan City and San Enrique town have already declared a state of calamity after incurring several millions in damage to rice crops. Source: Philippines News Agency