PRAYING for good weather? Go one step further to be up-to-date on the latest forecast from Pagasa. Quiapo Church now offers weather updates via text messaging. INQUIRER PHOTO
Quiapo residents and parishioners of the Minor Basilica of the Black Nazarene, more popularly known as Quiapo Church in Manila, can now get weather updates and warnings through text messaging from the parish.
According to Msgr. Clemente Ignacio, rector of the Quiapo Church, the parish’s disaster risk reduction ministry now sends weather updates through short message service (SMS) “to help prepare and reduce [the] vulnerabilities” of the public.
Ignacio said the updates they disseminate are sourced from institutions like the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa).
“We link up with institutions, both government and nongovernment agencies, to improve the capacities and resiliency of our constituents,” he added.
He said the mission of the ministry, established in July 2012, was to become a resource center of information in terms of hazards and risks within the Quiapo community.
But eventually, Ignacio said they intend to expand its information dissemination efforts to various dioceses all over the country.
The ministry also aims to be a training ground for volunteers who are experts in search and rescue and emergency response.
Quiapo Church has been one of the more active parishes in the country that undertakes relief operations during calamities. But Ignacio said they want “to move efforts from relief, rehabilitation and recovery toward preparedness.”
“Efforts must focus on enabling marginalized communities [to] face various disasters themselves,” he stressed.
Those interested to receive updates should register on Quiapo Church’s facebook account or website quiapochurch.com. They can also call the Disaster Management Office at 7334945 local 100.