BACOLOD CITY, April 22 -- 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 Nino 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 ...