Question & AnswerQ&A (Republic Act No. 10692)
Republic Act No. 10692 is officially titled as the PAGASA Modernization Act of 2015.
The act declares the policy of utilizing scientific and technical knowledge to ensure safety, well-being, economic security of the people, safeguard the environment, and promote progress and sustainable socioeconomic development through meteorology, geophysics, astronomy, and allied sciences.
PAGASA is mandated to provide adequate, up-to-date data, and timely information on atmospheric, astronomical, and weather-related phenomena to help the government and people prepare for natural calamities and undertake science-based assessments for disaster risk reduction, climate change adaptation, and other related services.
PAGASA shall be headed by an Administrator with the rank and compensation of a Department Undersecretary, appointed by the President upon the recommendation of the Secretary of the Department of Science and Technology.
They must be Filipino citizens and residents, of good moral character and proven integrity, possess an advanced degree in Meteorology or related fields, and have at least five years of competence and expertise in meteorology, geophysics, astronomy, or allied sciences; also, the Administrator and two Deputy Administrators shall be career executive officers.
Components include modernization of physical resources and operational techniques, enhancement of research and development capability, establishment of regional weather service centers, creation of a technology-based data center, improvement of weather data collection and dissemination, human resource development programs including salary scale and scholarship programs, and development of regional and international cooperation programs.
The PAGASA Modernization Fund is created exclusively to finance the modernization program and is sourced from three billion pesos from PAGCOR's gross income, income from PAGASA's specialized products and cost recovery programs, and loans, grants, bequests, and donations from local or foreign sources.
No, no fees shall be charged for regular and special forecasts, warnings affecting national safety, and other data or services provided for the public good. Fees may only be charged for specialized services approved by the Secretary of the DOST.
The modernization program shall be implemented for an initial period of three years, with provisions allowing payments of multi-year contract obligations beyond this period, and PAGASA is tasked to continually update its capabilities.
The Secretary of the Department of Science and Technology and the Administrator of PAGASA, in coordination with the Secretary of Budget and Management and the Director-General of NEDA, are responsible for the formulation and submission of the modernization program to the President within 90 days from the Act’s effectivity.