Talk Back: On City Hall’s use of water diviners

Alan Mark

(The letter is addressed to Sun.Star Cebu columnist Bobby Nalzaro)

AS a foreigner, I never try to participate in Filipino political discussion.

Thus, I will be purely tackling the subject of "water witching" or "water divining" (as the art is colloquially known in the United States).

I would like to inform you that, at least in the Pacific Northwest states, commercial well digging companies do pay them for their skills.

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I happen to know from first-hand discussions with US National Forest rangers in Oregon that they also use them to find water.

I'm not an expert on the subject.

I understand that scientists are not able to clearly identify the source or extant of these diviners’ skills, so of course they remain skeptical.

The subject hasn't been intensely studied, I suppose, because for a valid intensive study, someone would need to put up an amount of money, and no one sees any commercial profit return in doing that.

Water witches sell themselves by word-of-mouth referrals from satisfied customers, di ba?

But if commercial well diggers (almost always a small family operation, in the US setting) are spending real money to have these people do their tricks, I have to give these water diviners some kind of benefit of the doubt.

Now, as to whether a water witch needs to be housed in a 5-star hotel, that is for Cebu City voters to discuss, not me.

After all, even the most gifted water diviner has only one talent to rent out.

They need the water seeker just as much as vice versa.

It might be appropriate to just pay them for their services, same as any other consultant.

But I won't go any further in any discussion which starts to feel like local politics.

It’s a “no man’s land” for me.