A bishop in Southern Philippines has said he will lead an appeal to the heavens for rains as the country is expected to experience a long dry spell as a result of the El Nino. Bishop Martin Jumoad of the Diocese of Basilan, said the dry weather brought about by the El Nino phenomenon is expected to hit hard on the country.
Already he said, farms are reeling from the absence of rain.
He said he will issue an order to priests and Churches covered by the Diocese, to recite a special prayer called the Oratio Imperata.
Jumoad urged the entire Catholic clergy in the Philippines to issue a similar appeal.
"I'm also appealing to my fellow prelates in the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) to issue a nationwide Oratio Imperata because so many farmers are suffering from El Nino," Jumaoad was quoted in the CBCP website.
Special intention
Yesterday, Jumaoad led in reciting the Oratio Imperata in all Masses in Basilan.
The Catholic Church defines Oratio Imperata as an "ordered prayer" for a special intention.
It can be recalled that at the height of the El Nino phenomenon in 2007, Manila Archbishop Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales and several other bishops also issued a prayer for rain.
The El Nino is an abnormal warming of the ocean waters in the eastern tropical Pacific which trigger changes in the seasonal weather patterns.
As a result of the lack of rainfall in Mindanao, the main southern Philippines island is experiencing daily power outages lasting up to 12 hours.
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