Manila, July 22 -- Speaker Faustino "Bojie" Dy III on Wednesday urged government agencies to shift from reactive disaster response to proactive planning before the dry spell worsens, as the House of Representatives moves early to strengthen the country's preparedness against the looming effects of El Nino.

Speaking at the House Committee on Agriculture and Food's El Nino briefing, Dy stressed that the country in the past had already experienced the severe consequences of prolonged drought on agriculture, food supply and the economy.

"Ito po ay napapanahon sapagkat naranasan na po natin ang matinding epekto ng El Nino sa crop production, food security, at sa ating ekonomiya (This is timely because we have already experienced the severe ...