For Press Release: January 12, 2018

DOST VI Director hopes LGUs invest in its equipment in 2018

Department of Science and Technology (DOST) VI ended 2017 with a focus group discussion for selected
Disaster Risk Reduction and Management (DRRM) Officers and Deployment of Early Warning Systems (DEWS)
Project Stakeholders from Western Visayas last December 28-29, 2017 at District 21 Hotel, Iloilo City. This
event aims to provide the said participants with updates and at the same time gather feedback and suggestions
as regards the said project which ended in 2017.
DOST VI Regional Director Engr.
Rowen R. Gelonga said that
DOST primarily wanted to solicit
feedback from different DRRM
Officers in Western Visayas.
“We would like to spend time to
talk to from different DRRM
Officers and from the
stakeholders of these projects
which we have been
implementing for the region. We
would like to come up with an
activity to gain an honest-to-
goodness feedback from you
because we are finishing all these
projects”, Director Gelonga said.
‘‘This is very necessary because
we are getting a lot of projects.
We will have a transition in 2018
and all these facilities will be
turned over to PAGASA’’, he
added.
DOST VI Regional Director Engr. Rowen R. Gelonga hopes that LGUs will invest in its
equipment in 2018 during the focus group discussion for selected Disaster Risk Reduction
The DEWS is a project
and Management (DRRM) Officers and Deployment of Early Warning Systems (DEWS)
undertaken in cooperation with
Project Stakeholders from Western Visayas last December 28-29, 2017 at District 21
Hotel, Iloilo City. Photo by: DOST6/jragabiota the Philippines Atmospheric,
Geophysical and Astronomical
Services Administration (DOST-PAGASA) and DOST Regional Offices. It involves the installation of hydro
meteorological devices (hydromets) such as Automated Rain Gauge (ARG) and Water Level Monitoring Station
(WLMS) in different river systems and secondary tributaries to provide data that will be useful in protecting the
lives, property and livelihood in various communities. To complement these systems of hydro meteorological
devices, an early warning system composed of sirens or beacons will be installed in communities affected by
floods. The use of sirens or beacons as early warning of natural hazards is one of global best practices in
informing unsuspecting communities thus improving disaster risk reduction.
In his talk, Director Gelonga assured that in 2018, DOST VI will continue to maintain DRRM Unit and hopes that
LGUs will invest in its equipment.
“We are hoping the Local Government Unit can invest in our own equipment. When you invest in equipment later
on, (because you all have calamity funds and the utilization of calamity funds is very strict due to the laws that
are implemented) I am hoping you invest in our own sensors and it should be connected in DOST grid so we
don’t come up with a lot of networks since weather monitoring is essentially a community effort, it’s a complex
system”, he said.
“These equipment are not very expensive. One investment can be a big help because it can connect to different
facilities.’’, he further added.
The Regional Director also mentioned that DOST VI will be initiating certain projects at the regional level and will
be discussing with stakeholders what other projects could be still implemented at the level of its DRRM Unit.
To date, the DOST VI had installed an additional 23 hydromet stations and 12 sirens in the region under the
Deployment of Early Warning System (DEWS) Project. Since 2011, more than 150 hydromet stations have
already been installed in the region which can be monitored through the locally developed Bantay Panahon web-
based monitoring tool. This monitoring tool which was designed specifically for Local Disaster Risk Reduction
Management Officers of the LGUs complements the existing early warning system in their respective area of
responsibilities. The said monitoring tool can be accessed at www.bantaypanahon.dost6.info.
(DOST6/jragabiota)