Bohol okays P 2.5 M 

cloud seeding funds 

LOON BOHOL, August 30 (PIA)—The joint session of the Provincial Peace and Order Council (PPOC) and the Provincial Anti-Drug Abuse Council approved the release of Php 2.5 million for cloud seeding operations, in the hope of salvaging what can still be saved from the last cropping season. 

Assistant Provincial Agriculturist Larry Pamugas, in the prologue to his resolution requesting for the allocation, reported to the joint councils the dire situation of the majority of Bohol rice lands in the drought that has extended for months. 

“We have been monitoring the conditions of the farms in Bohol and we have seen how farmers struggled to save the remaining crops as the farms are now cracking under the heat,” Pamugas pointed out. 

Farmers in rain-fed areas, have long stopped planting with springs drying up after the drought, municipal agriculturists also reported. 

Even the National Irrigation Authority (NIA) bared that the dams that are supplying irrigation water, are on their critical levels but they still need to judiciously apportion the release, if only to save what remains to be harvestable crops soon. 

Provincial Agriculture Office estimates around 24,000 hectares of rain-fed and irrigated farms need to be salvaged in this drought, which has stretched, prompting people to ask if El Nino has come this year. 

Even Governor Edgar Chatto, who could be among the most travelled locals in a day, shared to the local media the need for a quick intervention while there is still time. 

He has intimated the need for possible cloud seeding operations that could bring in the much needed rains. 

Simplified, cloud seeding is the process of spreading either dry ice, or more commonly known as silver iodide aerosols into the upper part of clouds to try to stimulate the precipitation process and form rain. 

In most dry areas in Bohol, farmers have noticed cloud formations over them, but the southeast monsoons which have been intensifying recently appear to blow these clouds away before they could fall as rains. 

According to weather experts, most rainfall starts from the introduction of ice crystals into the super-cooled cloud droplets in the upper parts of the formed clouds, to encourage the growth of new ice particles and thus precipitate the process before winds could blow the clouds away. 

But, owing to the complex operations performed by a team of experts who would go out seeking these thick clouds to sow in the rain triggers, huge amounts are also needed for the airplane and the needed chemicals to induce the rains. 

But, Provincial Disaster and Risk Reduction Management Council Coordinator Anthony Damalerio certified that the Local Disaster and Risk Reduction has available funds for the operation, should the councils green light the project. 

With the impending cloud seeding operations, Pamugas cited the 2016-2017 cloud seeding operations that still allowed Bohol to harvest and contribute a bit for local food sufficiency. 

This time, the assistant provincial agriculturist is confident that a cloud seeding can still salvage crops especially the rice cropping, which would immensely prop up local supplies especially with the rice crisis looming across the country. (rahc/PIA-7/Bohol) 

Assistant Provincial Agriculturist proposed to Bohol Councils the release of the P2.5M allocation to fund the much needed cloud seeding operations to induce rain and possibly save some 24,000 hectares of Bohol farms hit by the long dry spell, as the country faces rice crisis. (rahc/PIA-7/Bohol)

Crimes down by 

26 %, says PNP 

LOON, Bohol, August 30 (PIA)—Crimes in Bohol in July dropped 26% as against the recorded 612 crime volume in June, records from Bohol police office Camp Francisco Dagohoy bare. 

At this, Bohol police authorities are still confident that the crimes downtrend since June, would continue in August, noting that people are now taking traffic laws rather seriously. 

Camp Francisco Dagohoy authorities, it its monthly report at the Provincial Peace and Order Council, showed a promising crime trend that dips from an all six months’ high at 736 cases in the fiesta month of May to 484 in July. 

Rendering the Philippine National Police (PNP) Bohol Provincial Police Office (BPPO) report for its chief PSSupt Angeles Geñorga, Camp Dagohoy Operations Chief Police Chief Inspector Mohammed Jul Jamiri said they are confident the crimes would continue its downtrend in August. 

Speaking before the joint session of the PPOC and the Provincial Anti-Drug Abuse Council (PADAC), Inspector Jamiri pointed out that from the merry month of May in Bohol, crime volume has gone 65.76% or 434 cases in July. 

“We are happy to say now that we are on a decline on the monthly crime trends,” Insp. Jamiri announced for the joint council members. 

Total crime volume for August was not yet available and would be by the next PPOC. 

When traffic related incidents and the physical injuries that contributed to most crimes in the previous months, police credited to the drive on the implementation of traffic laws and the presence of police checkpoints which have brought the crime volume down. 

Jamiri, who had a stint as detachment commander of the Bohol Tourist Police assigned in Panglao, admitted that in his monitoring in the resort island, almost all motorcycle riders are not wearing crash helmets and that people are now taking the traffic rules rather seriously. 

In his report, the police officer also acknowledged the rising index crimes from February to May, the Camp Dagohoy operations chief cited the decrease of over a hundred cases as already substantial. 

“From 538 cases in May, index crimes slid to 446 in June and then dove even further in July with 361 cases,” he pointed out. 

The recorded decrease in index crimes in the last two months reached 170 cases. 

As to non-index crimes, or those punishable by special laws, from 198 cases in May, more aggressive police anti-crime campaigns and the reinvigoration of the One-Time-Big Time (OTBT) in the Synchronized Enhanced Management of Police Operations (SEMPO) sustained the efforts. 

SEMPO and OTBT also uses the same principles of scientific data in crime fighting, as it also placed the maximum number of police officers by the roadside on certain times of the day, which netted the most number of illegally driven and unregistered vehicles, unlicensed drivers and illegally modified vehicles. 

From 198 cases of non-index crimes in May, authorities staved off 75 cases bringing the accomplishment figure to 123 cases. 

For non-index crimes, in the other non-index crimes category, police crime statisticians noted similar decrease in 124 to 64 cases, police records showed. 

Also showing promising declines are murder from 8 in May to 4 in July, rape from 9 to 7, robbery from 29 in May to 12 in July. 

For theft, the 82 cases in May sagged to 46 in July and carnapping from 6 in June, slid off to 2 cases in July, according to the PNP. 

As this continued, Bohol now keeps an average monthly crime rate of 35.10 and average monthly index crime rate trend of 8.92. 

But for the PNP, there is no time for resting on their laurels as the struggle to keep Bohol the best place for investment and a pleasurable paradise to live in becomes even more challenging with millions of tourists expected as the Panglao Airport starts to operate in the next few months. (rahc/PIA-7/Bohol) 

Camp Dagohoy operations Officer PCInspector Jul Mohammed Jamiri bared the decreasing trend in crimes, a fact most people ascribe to more police presence in the streets, and the Police Community Relations initiatives. (rahc/PIA-7/Bohol)