Napocor turns to higher power for rain

By: 11 years ago

CITY OF MALOLOS—Like the prophet Elijah who earnestly prayed for rain and, after seven tries, heard a rainstorm coming, modern-day “wonder workers” are knocking on heaven’s door for rain in abundance.

The cloudless sky over Angat Dam in Bulacan province has compelled the reservoir’s administrators to beseech a higher authority for rain: the Catholic Church.

Gladys Sta. Rita, president of the National Power Corp. (Napocor), said she asked Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle in a letter to lead an oratio imperata (mandatory prayer) as the Angat reservoir level dropped to 180.45 meters above sea level (masl), close to the critical low of 180 masl, which would compel its operators to take drastic action to conserve water.

Sta. Rita made a similar appeal over the social networking site Facebook weeks ago when the reservoir’s elevation first became a concern.

Angat Dam supplies potable water to Metro Manila and irrigation for Central Luzon farms.

Irrigation supply

Irrigation supply would be cut first should Angat levels continue to drop, a standard operating procedure imposed by the National Water Resources Board to give priority to the water supply for Metro Manila.

A cloud-seeding operation was scheduled on Saturday, Sta. Rita said. Friday afternoon had been cloudy in Bulacan.

But as of late Saturday, no seeding operation had taken place.

Ritual prayers are usually mounted by the religious organization Samahan ng Kapayapaan in Norzagaray town to call down rain on Angat, but its leader, Fely Rodrigo, said the group “still needs to commune with the Holy Spirit.”

In February, members of Rodrigo’s group, dressed in white prayer gowns, held prayer rituals to draw rain and to avert the farms’ destruction by earthquake, said Rodolfo German, general manager of Napocor’s Angat River hydroelectric power plant. Carmela Reyes-Estrope, Inquirer Central Luzon