By Dominique Gabriel G. Bañaga

A lawmaker in Negros Occidental has renewed his call on the Bureau of Soils and Water Management (BSWM) to conduct cloud seeding in the province.

Representative Emilio Yulo III said the light rains experienced in some parts of Negros Occidental, including its capital Bacolod City, over the weekend were “insufficient.”

Yulo said he even posted pictures of clouds on social media, disproving BSWM’s claims that there are no rain clouds.

“BSWM, you claimed that we don’t have rain clouds here, then what is this? Have mercy on our small planters,” he said in his post.

According to Yulo, the BSWM should allow cloud seeding operations in the province to save agricultural crops.

Earlier, he expressed dismay after the BSWM and the Department of Agriculture in Western Visayas (DA-6) did not recommend cloud seeding in Negros Occidental.

According to BSWM, cloud seeding would damage around 20,000 mango trees in San Carlos City, and another 5,000 trees in neighboring Guimaras Island.

Yulo said DA-6 should have closely looked at the situation of the entire province, which continues to reel from the effects of the dry spell.

Even if he doesn’t look at the data, he said he can see with his own eyes that the trees and lush greenery in the southern part of the province are dying due to lack of water./DGB, WDJ