Facing criticism that it failed to provide enough warning to local government units before the onslaught of Tropical Storm Enteng, officials of the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) said otherwise.
PAGASA administrator Nathaniel Servando said in a press conference that the state weather bureau still implements the “PAR plus five” rule, where the Philippine area of responsibility is expanded by about five degrees so that in case a typhoon develops outside the PAR, they can issue tropical cyclone advisory bulletins.
“The difference of Tropical Storm, it developed from a low-pressure area into a typhoon near the landmass of the Visayas, particularly the eastern portion of Samar Island. Before it developed into a typhoon, we had already issued weather advisories amid rains being experienced in the eastern part of the Visayas, even though it was still an LPA,” Servando said.
The difference with TS Enteng is that it developed into a typhoon within the PAR, but it did not mean that PAGASA was “sleeping on the job.”
The delay in the warning meant that concerned government agencies were late in issuing class and work suspensions.
Perhaps PAGASA is at fault, for failing to predict earlier the impact of TS Enteng, and if it can do better, it will need the necessary support from the government, in terms of funds, manpower, equipment, and technology.
Another probable reason why the information failed to reach the people on time would be the damage that was sustained by the country’s media after government canceled the franchise of the ABS CBN network, which provided extensive news coverage and broadcast the weather advisories when it was still in operation. Perhaps without sufficient media presence to raise the alarm, government officials have the tendency to be less proactive.
Whatever the reasons, government has to make sure that its people do not get blindsided by bad weather, especially since with the right equipment and knowledge, it can be forecast and predicted with relative accuracy these days. If PAGASA has any shortcomings, solutions have to be found and implemented. As for making media more effective, is there still a way for the public officials who allowed themselves to be manipulated into shutting down ABS CBN, one of the few media entities with nationwide reach, to make up for that particularly egregious mistake?*
