MANILA – So that the crop-producing areas in the country will have adequate protection against prolonged drought, Lakas-Kampi-CMD standard-bearer Gilberto "Gibo" Teodoro Jr. said he will push for the creation of more rain catchment facilities if elected to the presidency this coming elections.

Teodoro, in one of his campaign sorties, also said that rain catchment facilities will help in reducing the flood danger in communities where they are constructed.

The Lakas-Kampi-CMD presidential candidate noted that the government is being forced to ration out the already sparse supply of water to farming communities, thus reducing the amount of harvestable food crops.

"Construction of such facilities will greatly reduce our crop losses in seasons of drought or El Niño," Teodoro emphasized.

Water catchment facilities can be in the form of giant earth wells or simply dirt ponds, which the Lakas-Kampi-CMD standard bearer said, is the cheapest method of storing large amounts of rainwater.

"You merely have to dig a hole in the ground and line the bottom with non-porous materials like granite or clay, and then you have your homemade water catchment facility in your field or backyard," he explained.

Teodoro stressed that farmers only need to keep out pollutants from this water source to enable them to use it during the dry season.

The 1989 Bar topnotcher stressed that he intends to build rain catchment facilities in the crop-growing regions of the country so that the nation’s food security can be maintained and livelihood of farmer groups preserved from the ravages of El Niño.

Another advantage of maintaining rain catchment facility is that farmers won’t have to spend much for their irrigation needs as rain water is free, he said. (PNA)