LAST month, when it became clear that the Philippines will experience the effects of the periodic El Niño climate phenomenon this year, we issued an urgent call to the government to act immediately to prepare for it, as the El Niño typically brings near-drought conditions that threaten our water supplies. It is encouraging to be able to report that the warnings have been taken seriously; while we may not completely escape the ill effects of the El Niño, the steps taken by the government so far seem to have at least ensured that those effects are not a foregone conclusion and will be less stressful than they could be.