The government should prioritize upgrading the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) for more accurate and timely weather forecasts to enhance disaster preparedness and management, former Senate President Juan Miguel “Migz” Zubiri said Monday.

Speaking at a Senate Finance Subcommittee K hearing on the Department of Science and Technology’s (DoST) 2025 budget, sub-panel chair Zubiri emphasized the need for better weather forecasting technology to protect lives and avoid preventable disasters.

“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, who will be defending the DoST budget in plenary.

The budget briefing coincided with the release of the 2024 World Risk Report, where the Philippines was identified as the most disaster-prone among 193 countries.

Zubiri lamented that the country’s insufficient weather forecasting capabilities have consistently contributed to the loss of lives during typhoons and other natural disasters, such as with the recent typhoon “Enteng.”

He also noted that inaccurate weather warnings often lead to unnecessary class suspensions that may affect the education of children.

“It really boggles the mind, and it happens a lot, that school is called off on a particular day, however, it was very humid outside,” Zubiri said.

“This has an adverse effect on the education of our students, and on the economy as well,” he added.

With wrong weather assumptions, Zubiri added, work in national and local government as well as in some private companies can be suspended for several days, which can lead to loss or reduced productivity and adversely affect the economy.

‘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.’

Zubiri pointed out that PAGASA operates with limited equipment — only 11 of its 19 Doppler radars are functional, a critical tool for tracking rainfall, typhoons and thunderstorms.

He noted that the lack of equipment hampers the state weather bureau’s ability to provide precise weather information.

“Why is it that in other countries, they can predict the time of rainfall down to the hour? For example, from 10 in the morning to noon, it will rain. They will advise you to bring your umbrella,” he said.

“Here in our country, however, they always just say, ‘Today will be sunny, but with scattered rain showers and storms.’ That means it might rain, it might not,” he added.

To address these shortcomings, the former Senate chief called for the allocation of additional resources to PAGASA.

“If there are shortcomings, maybe we can increase your equipment. Maybe we can add to your training, or whatever software or hardware you need,” Zubiri said, committing to helping PAGASA with its Doppler radars, in particular.