Servando may become next Pagasa chief

MANILA, Philippines - Deputy Administrator Nathaniel Servando looms as the next chief of the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA).

However, Malacañang has not issued a confirmation.

Science and Technology Secretary Mario Montejo said he has recommended Servando for the post vacated by Prisco Nilo, who resigned last October.

Nilo was relieved last Aug. 5 for failing to provide accurate forecast for typhoon “Basyang,” which left scores of people dead in Metro Manila and neighboring provinces last July.

PAGASA is an attached agency of the Department of Science and Technology.

Montejo said he hopes Servando could assume the position before the end of the year.

“He (Servando) will be the next PAGASA administrator. We’re just waiting for the formalities,” he told reporters.

Servando has been the Pagasa deputy administrator for research and development since February 2004.

He graduated with a B.S. Electrical Engineering degree from the University of Negros Occidental Recoletos in 1988.

He obtained his master’s and doctoral degrees in Meteorology at the University of the Philippines Diliman in 1994 and 1999.

Servando joined PAGASA as a meteorologist in 1989.