More funds should be given to the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) in order to enhance the agency's capabilities for more accurate weather forecasting, Senator Juan Miguel “Migz” Zubiri said.
Zubiri made the call during the Senate finance subcommittee’s hearing on the proposed 2025 budget of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST).
The former Senate chief said PAGASA’s failure to provide accurate and timely weather forecasts has negatively impacted the government’s disaster preparedness and management programs.
Zubiri pointed the country’s insufficient weather forecasting skills have consistently contributed to the loss of lives during typhoons and natural disasters, such as during the recent typhoon “Enteng.”
A better weather forecasting technology, he said, would help protect more lives and avoid preventable calamities.
“This is a failure of us to inform the people about the weather, and it is a failure of us, as a government, to warn them about the geohazard areas,” said Zubiri, chair of the sub-panel that will be defending the DOST budget in plenary.
“It really boggles the mind, and it happens a lot, that school is called off on a particular day, tapos napakainit sa labas, walang ulan (then it's hot outside, there's no rain),” Zubiri expressed.
“This has an adverse effect on the education of our students, and on the economy as well,” he added.
He said wrong weather assumptions will disrupt work in national and local government as well as in some private companies, leading to loss or reduced productivity and adversely affect the economy.
Zubiri also said the lack of equipment is hounding PAGASA’s ability to provide precise weather information, with only 11 of its 19 Doppler radars are functional.
Doppler radars are critical tool for tracking rainfall, typhoons, and thunderstorms.
The lawmaker said it is imperative to allocate additional funds to PAGASA to address these shortcomings, noting that despite the agency’s proposed budget of P49.253 billion for 2025, only P28.772 billion was approved in the National Expenditure Program (NEP).
PAGASA, he noted, only received a modest increase of P290.915 million.