Wake-upper:
Scene: Motivational speaker and author Bo Sanchez at the 7th
year anniversary of the Feast Tagbilaran last Friday at the Bohol Cultural
Center. Everyone was inspired and blessed.
* * *
There
are worlds within worlds... Everything in our world is connected by the
delicate strands of the web of life, which is a balance between the forces of
destruction and the magical forces of creation.- Magi Lune to Crista (Fern Gully)
 |
In
Bohol, the rice bowl of Central Visayas, drought affects farmer significantly.
Crops have already been ruined by withering heat which affected farmers in 27
towns of Bohol who are now at the mercy of erratic weather. In times of
drought, there is often not enough water available for people to drink and
bathe regularly. In Barangay Bantolinao in Antequera, west of Tagbilaran City,
an ordinance was strictly enforce prohibiting people to bathe and wash their
clothes in all springs and creeks in the barangay since drought dried up their
water sources. Leo Udtohan/Chronicle
|
To my friends and I, Friday’s Earth Day was our celebration.
It was a night when my friends’ mixed bag of spirituality
culminates in a wild night of music, art, nature, food and love.
Different Earth Day activities were held to show our general
appreciation for the planet.
The
Earth Day celebration was marked by the country’s signing of the Paris
Agreement, a legally binding agreement forged between United Nations
member-countries held in Paris, France, in December last year, to reduce carbon
emission and limit global temperature rise below 1.5 degrees Celsius.
In Tagbilaran City, members and supporters of the Bohol Nature Conservation
Society (Bonaconso) gathered on Friday morning to celebrate Earth Day with a
special ritual.
At
night, a “Bohol Earth Day Concert” was held at the K of C promenade with Tadiyandi and multiawarded singer-songwriter Joey Ayala. Ayala is a towering figure in the local music
scene, his critically-acclaimed albums are inspired by Mother Nature and social
concerns. As a musician and artist, he believed in the healing power of song,
as well as the connection to the earth that it provided.
 |
Singer-songwriter
Joey Ayala who is known for his songs’
relevance
of subject matter – environment, society, values –
celebrates Earth Day in
Bohol province. Leo Udtohan/Chronicle
|
The
Climate Change Primer of Bonaconso said that man’s disregard to God’s call to
cultivate and take care of Earth, we are faced with the great havoc mostly
inflicted by man’s activities which we call in this present age as “Climate
Change” or “Global warming.”
Scientists
agree that climate change is a real and urgent threat.
Pat
Ruiz, president of Bonaconso, blamed the environmentally destructive projects
that contributed to the effects of the El Niño, which is strongly being felt in
various parts of the country.
The
Earth Day Celebration was also significant as the province of Bohol is
experiencing deepening drought due to El Niño.
The
drought is aggravating the situation in the countryside. The farmers are reeling from the effects of the dry
spell that is expected to last either late May or early June.
Bohol’s central ground and northern lowlands have
fertile grounds and abundant water supply. It has 2,224 springs, 59 rivers and
200 creeks.
However, the springs and creeks as well as the four major dams-- Malinao Dam in Pilar town, Bayongan Dam in San Miguel
town, Capayas Dam in Ubay town and Zamora Dam in Talibon town—in the province
are drying up.
According
to Larry Pamugas, assistant provincial agriculturist, 42 of the 47 towns in Bohol, were affected.
Pamugas said at least P388M worth of crops had been damaged
by the drought in Bohol which had not experienced any downpour since January.
The drought did not just affect the farmlands but
also the sources of drinking water of residents especially those in the
mountain areas.
“We lack portable water. Other municipalities use
firetrucks just to supply water in their respective barangays,” Pamugas said.
In the municipalities of Albur and Dauis, local
officials ordered the towns' firetrucks to deliver water to some barangays
where the water sources have dried up. Some residents would line up on the
streets, bringing their empty gallons, waiting for the firetrucks to arrive.
Russel Villas, Sangguniang Bayan secretary and Information Officer of Antequera town, said surface water sources such as springs and ponds have dried up. The water level of their reservoir in Barangays Tabuan and Ubojan has also gone down due to the drought.
The municipality of Antequera has been placed under
a state of calamity since March 21 when their water supply has dwindled,
affecting all its 21 barangays and the farmlands.
Antequera officials bought water tanks that were
used to ration potable drinking water to barangays.
Potable drinking water is a problem especially in
Barangay Bantolinao since one third of its 1,226 residents depend on community
pumps and deep wells.
Since water has become a precious commodity, the
village has started to strictly implement a barangay ordinance that prohibits
bathing in the water pump to limit the use of water to drinking.
A wooden signage posted in the area reads:
“Ginadili ang pagkaligo dinhing dapita kay nagkainit ang panahon...P200 ag
multa kung naay malego. Thank you (It is not allowed to bathe here due to the
intense hot weather. A fine of P200 will be imposed on those who take a bath).”
Bantolinao Barangay Captain Conrada Pagod said the
ordinance has been in existence since 2014 which bans bathing and washing in
traditional water source such as tubod (creeks) in order not to pollute their
water source.
First offense carries a penalty of P100, P200 for
second offense and P300 for third offense.
“Dili na paliguan ang tubod karung panahuna sa
among barangay. Sa tubod tigkuha og imnunon kay dili man tigpalit og bottled
water kay mahal (Bathing in the creek is not allowed in our village especially
now. We get our drinking water from the creeks because bottled water is
expensive),”Pagod said.
Women from Bantolinao and other neighboring
barangays have to walk at least 7 km to go to a nearest river in Barangay
Can-umay to wash their clothes.
In some towns, women and children spend hours
walking to and from existing pumps and wells just to provide water for their
families.
Ruiz
said reclamation projects will not only bring more environmental devastation,
and more community displacements, and worsen the city’s vulnerabilities to climate
change.
Bonaconso
also emphasized on morality crisis. The youth today are taught they must change
the world, not their souls. So, they change the world, and it becomes worse. Without
moral absolutes to distinguish right from wrong, there is no real basis for
ethics.
Bonaconso
also said we have to redeem the entire created order for God by making all
things right in the environment-ecologically, socially, morally and
spiritually.
We
are hopeful that the future generation will inherit a cleaner, healthier and a
safer planet.
***
6,000 crowd for Roxas-Robredo
rally
Ubay, Bohol – Presidential candidate Mar Roxas
and his running-mate Rep. Leni Robredo, including some senatorial bets of the
Daang Matuwid coalition, on Wednesday night campaigned in Bohol province, the
bailiwick of the LP party.
 |
Vice
Presidential aspirant Rep. Leni Robredo
celebrates her birthday in Bohol
province (her birthday was
actually celebrated yesterday) as she receives a
birthday cake
from LP-Bohol’s leaders Bohol Gov. Edgar Chatto
and Rep. Rene
Relampagos. Leo Udtohan/Chronicle
|
At least 3,000 people gathered here to show their
support for the Roxas-Robredo tandem at the Ubay public market at around 6 p.m.
Ubay town, which has a registered voters of 40,803
and is located 113 km from capital city of Tagbilaran, is considered the
turf of incumbent 2nd district Congressman Aristotle “Aris” Aumentado of
Nationalist People’s Coalition (NPC) who is supporting Vice
President Jejomar Binay and Sen. Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.
Roxas told the crowd that he would continue the
Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) if he will be elected president.
Robredo, who turned 52 yesterday, also received a
birthday cake shaped like a slipper prepared for her by the local LP leaders.
The supporters sang for her the customary birthday song.
Asked what would be her birthday wish, she
answered, “ano lang po, yung sa akin parati lang good health at tsaka safety ng
pamilya.”
She also said she didn’t wish to win the May 9
elections.
“Sa akin po, hindi ko winiwish yun, kug anong
ibibigay sa akin handa kong tatanggapin,” she said.
Robredo said she was overwhelmed and at the same
time humbled after leading in the latest Social Weather Stations (SWS) mobile
survey commissioned by TV5 for the vice presidential aspirants.
“Merun pang 19 days, pero masaya tayo sa results ng
pinakabagong survey dahil nangunguna tayo. Pero hindi siya dahilan para
makapanti tayo. Mahigit 2 linggo at marami pang mangyayari. Kaya lalo pa nating
sisipagan sa susunod na mga araw. Naniniwala tayo po tayo kasi hindi ito
nagdedetermine ng election pero magandang basehan kung ano ang pulso ng tao
at saan pa kami magtrabaho,” she said.
Robredo obtained 30 percent, three points ahead of
Marcos who got 27 percent while Escudero got 25 percent. Senators Alan
Peter Cayetano, Antonio Trillanes IV and Gregorio Honasan II got 13, 3 and 1
percent, respectively.
After Ubay’s rally, the tandem proceeded to
Pilar town, to attend another rally with an estimated crowd of 3,000 at Pilar
municipal ground.
Pilar has 15,169 registered voters.
* * *
Thanks for your letters, all will be answered.
Comments welcome at leoudtohan@yahoo.com, follow leoudtohan at Twitter
/Facebook.
