Senators seek simplified Pagasa weather bulletins

MANILA, Philippines — Simplify weather bulletins and make it accessible to the masses.

This was the appeal of at least three senators early Thursday morning during the Senate’s marathon plenary deliberations on the proposed 2025 budget of the Department of Science and Technology.

Among these senators who raised his concern was Senate Majority Leader Francis Tolentino.

“What our countrymen are asking is, can’t we simplify our weather bulletins so it’s easier to understand?” asked Tolentino.

READ: Heavy rainfall warnings up over parts of Northern Luzon

“(For example) can”t we just say that at this time two thousand drums of rain will fall in this area and we are issuing a warning that you should evacuate. Can’t we simplify the weather bulletins?” he emphasized.

While he admits that these are timely and relevant, he said some people still get confused, especially on the amount of rain that is being poured at times in certain areas.

READ: EXPLAINER: What do color-coded rainfall warnings mean?

At the end of Tolentino’s prodding was Sen. Juan Miguel Zubiri who was answering on behalf of the DOST as the agency’s budget sponsor.

Zubiri said he agrees with Tolentino, detailing that he already had a briefing with Pagasa and that he personally asked as well whether Pagasa’s weather bulletins may be simplified.

“I asked them if we] can we simplify because they might not understand the red rainfall warning, orange rainfall warning, yellow. Of course, in their methodology they put a number of inches of rain that will fall when it rains, when it’s yellow, when it’s orange,” said Zubiri.

“But what you said is correct and the secretary agrees with me. Maybe they’ll come up with a more simplified methodology that the Filipino masses can understand,” he added.

Later into the deliberations, Sen. Minority Leader Koko Pimentel raised the same concern. Pimentel said he had received phone calls from parents who were disappointed by the alarms used by the local government units as adopted from Pagasa.

He said the concerns raised by some parents was why Pagasa issues confusing bulletins. According to the opposition leader, Filipinos remain misguided as a result of lack of familiarity with weather bulletins.

“Why are we using colors? I mean there is no color naturally linked with alarm. But if we use numbers, you can say the degree of the alarm, 1,2,3,4,5 with 5 being the most alarming situation. Pero when you say red, yellow, wala eh. Neutral yung mga colors eh. So why did they use colors in the first place?” asked Pimentel.

Pimentel was pertaining to the state weather bureau’s color-coded rainfall advisory which covers three colors: Yellow for alert, orange for preparation, red for taking action.