Bohol prov’l board member wants to stop cloud seeding: It’s rainy season

An airport employee in UAE signals to a twin-propeller Beechcraft plane that is fixed with salt flares which are fired into a promising cloud to increase condensation and hopefully trigger rainfall, as it prepares to take off on a cloud-seeding mission at al-Ain airport on April 23, 2015. (File photo from AFP / MARWAN NAAMANI )

TAGBILARAN CITY – A provincial board member in Bohol has requested her colleagues to immediately stop the cloud seeding operations in the province.

Board member Vierna Mae Boniel criticized the decision to initiate cloud seeding starting June 11, saying it is both redundant and unnecessary.

She said the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) already announced the start of the rainy season.

“It has come to our attention that despite the onset of the rainy season, as confirmed by PAGASA’s recent pronouncements, funds have been allocated for cloud seeding operations — a measure that seems redundant and unnecessary at this juncture,” said Boniel in her privilege speech on June 11.

“Continuing with these operations in light of the abundant rainfall would not only be an imprudent use of funds but also a disregard for the natural water resources that have been bestowed upon us,” she added.

Boniel asked for the conduct of an investigation into the delay and non-materialization of critical interventions during the drought.

She said the provincial board passed Supplemental Budget No. 4, allocating a P30 million premium for the Philippine Crop Insurance to indemnify approximately 30,000 farmers affected by the El Niño phenomenon.

Boniel said the board also authorized Bohol Gov. Erico Aristotle Aumentado to sign an agreement with people’s organizations for the distribution of 402 sets of irrigation materials, including water pumps, barrels, and hoses, valued at P 23.4 million.

On Tuesday, June 11, the provincial government of Bohol, in partnership with the Department of Agriculture’s Bureau of Soil and Water Management (DA-BSWM), initiated the cloud seeding operations with a combined funding of P7.5 million.

Pegasus Air Services successfully carried out its first cloud seeding operation at around 11 a.m.

During the flight, 250 kilos of salt were dispersed into the clouds to induce rainfall.

Their efforts bore fruit around 3 p.m. when rainfall occurred in Sagbayan and Antequera towns following the flight path of Pegasus Air Services.

The local government said “cloud seeding aims to replenish dam water, recharge soil and groundwater, and assist farmers in early land preparation and planting.”

On May 21, the provincial government declared a state of calamity due to the ill effects of the El Niño.

Acting provincial agriculturist Larry Pamugas said the damage to agriculture and fisheries has already reached over P420,000,000 in 36 of 48 towns.

It has affected at least 100,000 families of farmers.

The state of calamity has not been lifted yet.