PAGASA should develop better heat index monitoring system – Villar

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) should develop a better and stronger system of monitoring heat index to give Filipinos early warning against debilitating or even potentially fatal high temperatures, similar to the alert system used during other calamities, Sen. Mark Villar said yesterday.

In filing Resolution 590, Villar urged the concerned Senate committee to conduct an inquiry, in aid of legislation, to assess the current status of existing heat index monitoring and warning systems in the country, identify the potential impacts of extreme heat on public health and the economy, and determine best practices and technologies on heat index monitoring and alert systems in other countries.

The senator explained that he filed the resolution because of reports that reached his office about an incident in Cabuyao City in Laguna, where 120 students were taken to hospitals in the province after they fainted while a fire drill was being conducted in their school and another one that occurred recently at a festival in Taytay, Palawan, where 90 people experienced dizziness and fainted because of extreme heat.

“PAGASA should also give a warning when it is too hot in places here in the country. By providing our countrymen with sufficient and early information through text messages and other technologies, we can save lives and prevent any other heat-related incidents from occurring. If we have a system for typhoons, we should also have one for heat index,” he said in English and Filipino.

“I am committed to ensuring the safety and well-being of all Filipinos. This inquiry is necessary to ensure that appropriate preventive measures will be taken when heat indices reach dangerous levels,” he added.

Villar also mentioned that these heat-related illnesses affect not only the public’s health, but also the agricultural and industrial sectors’ productivity, ultimately affecting the country’s economic and social welfare.

“With a more extensive and effective system to monitor and provide information on the level of heat in the Philippines, it is expected that the public’s health will be better protected. Moreover, it can avoid the negative impact it may have on the economy and the social welfare of the country,” he said mostly in Filipino.