Space-based technologies such as satellites are vital to strengthen the country’s maritime security and disaster mitigation capabilities, government officials have said.

Commodore Roy Vincent Trinidad, Philippine Navy spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea, pointed out that satellite technology has helped the Navy to get vital information that are crucial in safeguarding the country’s maritime domain.

He particularly cited the benefits of the Dark Vessel Detection (DVD) System, Canada’s satellite program that is being used in the Philippines since last year.

“The impact has been significant considering that our response capability is now focused on actionable information,” Trinidad said during the first space cooperation conference organized by international think tank Stratbase Institute, in partnership with the Embassy of Canada in the Philippines and the Philippine Space Agency, in Makati City last week.

“With all the information, not only from the Canadian friends, but all other sources that we sift through, and transform the information to intelligence, then we could preserve our response capabilities only when they are needed. And we expect this to improve as we get more capabilities to be able to see what's out there,” he added.

The Philippines and Canada signed an arrangement that included the Philippine National Coast Watch Center (NCWC) in the DVD System on the sidelines of the 6th Joint Commission for Bilateral Cooperation (JCBC) in Ottawa on October 12, 2023.

The DVD System is a program used to combat illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing (IUUF) by vessels who deliberately turn off their Automatic Identification System (AIS). It utilizes layered multi-sensor satellite data from both commercial and government-owned satellite assets to provide near real-time satellite imagery. It incorporates historical vessel information, environmental data, and analytics to support and facilitate analysis.

The system is jointly managed by the NCWC and Canada’s Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO), and aims to bolster the Philippines’ fight against IUUF and enhance its maritime domain awareness over its territorial waters and Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZ).

For Office of Civil Defense (OCD) Administrator Ariel Nepomuceno, satellite-based solutions are vital to leapfrog the capability of the country in managing disasters.

“I was asked about a month ago if we are truly ready with regard to ‘The Big One’. I said, as long as our assumption is that at least 50,000 Filipinos will immediately perish, I don't think that's should be our definition of being ready,” Nepomuceno said, referring to a potential magnitude 7.2 earthquake that might occur due to the movement of the West Valley Fault.

“So the role of digital solutions, specifically satellite-based solutions, will be vital to leapfrog the capability of the country, not only the Civil Defense office, but the entire… what we say, the whole-of-government approach in managing disasters,” he explained.

Meanwhile, Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Undersecretary Carlos Primo David said they have been using satellite technology in mapping the country’s natural resources.

“In our experience in DENR, the use of satellite imagery actually makes our work cost effective. We are rich in natural resources. How do we utilize this for economic development and progress in our community? The very, very first step is to map out where our resources are,” he said.

“With 10 people in our team and the whole country to map out, there's absolutely no way to do that, except that if we use satellite imagery. So for us, it's cost effective. And the next step there really is leveraging on this technology for progress and economic development that comes after all this mapping has taken place,” David added.

Considering the importance of space-based technology, Stratbase Institute President Dindo Manhit urged the government to collaborate more with like-minded nations like Canada to strengthen the Philippines’ capabilities in this field.

“In the sector of space, the areas for new industries, collaboration with different countries, and economic potential for Philippine society at large are as vast as space itself,” Manhit stated.