Japanese Ambassador Kazuhide Ishikawa turned over Appari and Guian Radar Stations to the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) for the Japan-funded Improvement Project of the Meteorological Radar System.
The ceremony was also attended by H.E. Fortunato De La Peña, Secretary of Science and Technology. The project is funded by ODA grant aid amounting to 3.35 billion yen (approximately 1.46 billion pesos) from the Government of Japan.
The project aims to effectively prevent damages that tropical cyclones and other severe weather phenomena may cause, by enhancing the weather monitoring and weather information/warning dissemination capability of PAGASA.
Protection of Lives and Properties
The project includes the installation of meteorological data display systems, the establishment of data satellite communication systems, and the replacement of the three (3) existed Meteorological Radar Systems in Aparri, Cagayan; Virac, Catanduanes; and Guiuan, Samar with Doppler (S-band) Radar System.
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The project is expected to contribute to the protection of lives and properties and help mitigate the devastation caused by tropical cyclones and other severe weather conditions through continuous and timely dissemination of accurate forecasts, warnings and advisories to disaster management agencies and mass media.
Japan, as the top ODA donor to the Philippines as well as a disaster-prone country itself, has supported the Philippines’ disaster mitigation efforts by sharing its experiences and lessons learned from the past natural disasters.
Japan’s Commitment to the Philippines
This project reaffirms the continued commitment of Japan to extend cooperation in minimizing threats of disasters. This project is expected to further foster the strategic partnership between the two countries and serve as a model for other disaster-prone areas of the Philippines.
“Disaster risk reduction is one of the most important areas of cooperation as both Japan and the Philippines are disaster-prone countries. It is with this spirit that Japan decided to assist the Philippines by enhancing the capability of PAGASA to effectively minimize and prevent damages that tropical cyclones and other severe weather phenomena may cause,” Ambassador Ishikawa said. – BusinessNewsAsia.com