Senator Alan Peter Cayetano on Wednesday criticized the Department of Agriculture for allegedly failing to adequately prepare for the effects of the El Niño phenomenon in the country.

During Wednesday's hearing, DA Undersecretary Dennis Guerrero said the department has been intensifying its preparations for the El Nino phenomenon since the start of December 2015 "when we received the news from PAGASA that the El Niño is going to be strong."

Cayetano, however, said lawmakers were notified of the phenomenon as early as 2014. He said the agency even asked for a provision for El Nino preparations to be inserted in the 2015 budget.

"2014, nung pinapa-approve ninyo yung budget ninyo, sinabi na sa inyo na ng PAGASA na merong El Niño. And you said buong 2015, aayusin nyo na yung irrigation, yung pumps, yung equipment para pagtama ng 2016, mitigated na," he said.

He noted that P500-million was allotted to the NIA Quick Response "to serve as a stand-by fun for the re-construction, rehabilitation programs, etc. in cases of calamity" and another P500-million for the DA Quick Response fund.

Guerrero said they only anticipated mild El Niño "but El Niño intensified, your honor, towards the end of the year."

"Ang question lang ng mild o hindi, gaano kalaki. Now it’s 23 provinces. So whether it was mild o hindi, alam nyo saan tatama, alam nyong El Nino yun. If you did not prepare since January, it would have been too late in December. And you started November, December," said Cayetano.

"It’s not your fault na may El Nino; but it’s the DA’s fault that we’re not prepared for this kind of El Nino," he added.

Guerrero said as per their mandate, "there is a limitation as to the quick response fund that we can use."

"By definition, your honors, the quick response can only be used for post-disaster activities. And it is a standby fund to be used only for seeds and other planting materials, fingerlings and fry, minor fishing paraphernalia," he said.

Guerrero added they would like that provision amended.

He also said they cannot interfere with the operations of the National Food Authority because it is not under the DA but the Office of the Presidential Assistant On Food Security And Agricultural Modernization (OPAFSAM).