ILOILO CITY, March 28 -- Four municipalities in Iloilo are on the threshold of declaring a state of calamity due to the El Nino phenomenon.

Cornelio Salinas, head of the Iloilo Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office, identified the municipalities as Carles, Dumangas, Barotac Nuevo, and Anilao.

He said Barotac Nuevo has already declared a state of calamity, but there are rectifications on the procedural process.

The three other towns are still in the process of finetuning, he said in an interview Thursday.

"By next week, probably they are already in that direction," he said.

Provincewide, as of March 11 data, their validated report showed losses of PHP422.6 million in rice, corn, and high-value crops.

"Although...