PAGASA Assures More Performance-Enhancing Efforts

(PNA) — Government’s weather agency celebrated its 150th anniversary yesterday (March 23) with a commitment to further improve its services, recognizing such effort is essential for helping better protect life, limb and property from disasters.

“We hope to further pursue cooperation with stakeholders concerned to help reduce communities’ vulnerability to hazards,” said Dr. Vicente Malano, Acting Administrator of State-run weather agency Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical ServicesAdministration (PAGASA).

During a forum Monday in Metro Manila, he noted such cooperation is key as the Philippines and other countries must face challenges from impacts of climate change.

“All humanity is facing dangers of climate change,” he said.

Experts already identified the Philippines as among the most vulnerable to impacts of the changing climate.

Such impacts are temperature and sea level rise as well as increasing onslaught of extreme weather events, they said.

For the milestone event, which PAGASA celebrated simultaneously with its observance of World and National Meteorological Day, the agency chose the theme ‘Climate knowledge for climate action.’

“The event is timely as the Filipino nation heads on to face challenges of our changing climate,” said Sec. Mario Montejo of PAGASA’s mother agency Department of Science and Technology (DOST).

PAGASA and Project NOAH (Nationwide Operational Assessment of Hazards) enabled government to equip itself with essential technology and knowledge for better disaster preparedness, he noted.

He said from just 100-plus sensors and mapping of five major and 18 minor river systems in earlier years, government since 2010 was able to install over 1,400 meteorological and other disaster information sensors while successfully mapping over 18 major river basins and 285 minor river systems – all “done at almost a billion pesos less.”

“We have truly come a long way and although the road ahead is still riddled with problems, there remains great opportunities to create change in the world we live in,” he said.

Climate Change Commission Vice-Chairperson Lucille Sering lauded PAGASA for exerting effort on further improving its forecasting capability.

She noted PAGASA’s forecasts are already staples for planning and decision-making.

“What PAGASA gives us is crucial as what we know will help save us,” she said at the forum.

Office of Civil Defense Administrator and National Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council (NDRRMC) Executive Director Alexander Pama also praised PAGASA for improving its performance.

“In my eight months at NDRRMC, I saw significant improvement in its weather forecasting,” he said at the forum.

He noted such improvement continues helping government prepare for possible onslaught of hazards.

PAGASA began in January 1865 as the Philippine Meteorological Service under the Observatorio Meteorologico de Manila which is known today as Manila Observatory.

In May 1901, the Philippine Commission reorganized the Observatorio under Act 131 and named this as the Weather Bureau under the interior department’s administrative control.

The bureau’s records and instruments were destroyed in February 1945 during the Battle of Manila.

Government re-established the bureau in July that year with seven men comprising its personnel under Edilberto Parulan as OIC.

Through the years, the bureau underwent further changes and by 1968 commenced computerizing its meteorological services.

In December 1972, then-president Ferdinand Marcos reorganized the bureau as PAGASA.

He removed PAGASA from the defense ministry’s jurisdiction in September 1984 and placed this agency under National Science and Technology Authority (NSTA).

His predecessor Corazon Aquino issued EO 128 in January 1987 reorganizing NSTA into DOST with PAGASA as one of its line agencies.

After years of transferring from one location to another, PAGASA in January 2003 finally moved to its permanent headquarters in Quezon City. (PNA) LAP/CJT/NOD