LAOAG CITY, April 25 -- The town of Solsona in Ilocos Norte has been placed under the state of calamity for authorities to address further the worsening situation caused by the El Nino phenomenon.

"We are now under state of calamity because of drought. By placing the entire municipality, the barangays (villages) can now use their calamity fund to address urgent intervention against El Nino," Vice Mayor Jonathan De Lara said in a media interview on Thursday

Initial damage to crops and livestock are placed to have reached around PHP7 million so far, and local government estimates show that around 186 farmers have already lost livelihood due to water scarcity.

Solsona information officer lawyer Alfonso Jeziel delos Reyes told the Philippi...