SP thrashes fake news fed

To unsuspecting legislator

CORTES, Bohol, June 15 (PIA)—The Sangguniang Panlalawigan (SP) Committee on Agriculture thrashed what many see as superficial evidence and fake information purportedly fed to a board member to back a move to halt the multi-million cloud seeding operations that could salvage over 100,000 hectares of productive agricultural lands here.

At the committee hearing held at the SP Pre-session Hall Friday, the SP Committee tackled Board Member Vierna Mae Boniel Maglasang’s issues raised in her privilege speech last week.

The Department of Agriculture’s Bureau of Soil and Water Management has downloaded P5 million and the Provincial Disaster and Risk Reduction Management Council put in P2.5 million as counterpart to start the flights that would manually sprinkle salt to rain clouds to induce them to fall.

Maglasang, who is identified with the opposition, called for an immediate halt of the cloud seeding operations and asked for a comprehensive investigation to ensure that the resources are effectively used as intended.

The second district board member believed that the operation could be useless with the rainy season already pronounced by the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical Astronomical Services Administration (PAG-ASA) in late May.

The pronouncement was also followed by the rains brought by tropical depression Aghon, drenching some parts of Bohol with the much needed rains last May 24-25.

Maglasang also added that she had information that Malinao Dam has already spilled due to the rains.

Completing her laid-out evidence, she also cited the social media post stating that Bohol’s expensive cloud seeding operation has benefitted, not Bohol but Cebu.

Maglasang’s presented evidence however proved too insufficient to pass the SP committee’s muster.

PAG-ASA Bohol chief Engr. Leonardo Samar, over the PAG-ASA pronouncement of the onset of the rainy season said Bohol still experiences way below normal rainfall, despite the weather disturbance last week.

“From June 1 to June 12, under normal conditions in the rainy season, Bohol has been getting an average of 5.2 millimeters per day for the 12 days, however, we are getting only 4.6 millimeters per day” the chief meteorologist in Bohol said.

The same is even way too low for farmers to start the much delayed land preparations, which should have started in May, according to National Irrigation Administration’s Malinao Dam operations chief Engr Evelina Putong.

She explained that despite some few programmed rice lands for irrigation which can be served by the impounded water of Bohol dams, the dry soil would need more water until it can saturate the soil before it can retain the usual water needed by the plants to be productive.

Dry and cracked farms would need a higher percolation level, and with the shortage of rain water, this would mean more water from the dams, and lesser areas to be served.

Department of Agriculture research specialist Cecille Opada also revealed that the lack of water has stopped farmers from preparing the land for this cropping season.

Over the alleged spilling of the Malinao dam reportedly last June 5, Engr. Putong whose personnel keeps track of the level of the Malinao so that they too can share water to Bayongan Dam.

On their social media page, NIA which has been giving daily updates on the level of the dams showed that as of June 5 at 8 AM, elevation of the water in the dam was 151.72, and at that time was diverting its water via a special duct, to Bayongan in San Miguel.

The video, which Maglasang claimed was taken in Malinao, was not geo-tagged and was no way verifiable.

The board member said a councilor in Pilar town, passed the video to her.

“I’m sorry to say that the dam has not spilled since December 2023,” Engr Putong pressed.

On the social media post dated June 12, posted by an unverified Voice of the Boholanon, saying that the clouds seeded in Bohol fell as rains in Cebu, the Bohol cloud seeding technical working group said the statement is fake.

On June 12, indeed there were seedable clouds seen over Maribojoc and Loon, but it was already out to benefit Bohol.

We did not seed that cloud, the TWG said, considering the wind speed, direction and the position of the clouds at that time.

Over the need to salvage over 100,000 hectares of agricultural lands, aquaculture and undetermined patches of watersheds needing replenishment and countless livestock and poultry desperately needing the water now, the SP Committee ruled to continue the cloud seeding operations. (PIABohol)

FIGURES DO NOT LIE. NIA stood in its ground negating the claims that the Malinao Dam spilled water June 5, supposedly because of the rains. Engr Evelina Putong said Malinao is designed so that at a certain level of its water, it would start to release its water to Bayongan Dam, which by now is in dire need of water. (PIABohol)

YEAH YEAH BONIEL. Now seen as the hand behind the move to deprive Boholano farmers of the chance to plant and feed their families, BM Vierna Mae Boniel-Maglasang is accordingly made a pawn by the opposition to block every move that the administration is pushing. Her manipulators however could be cheering now at the pawn in this game of politics. (foto by PIMO)