DOST Central Office in Bicutan, Taguig City (Photo courtesy of DOST)
MANILA – The Department of Science and Technology has spent over PHP108.4 million for 12 new projects related to disaster risk reduction (DRR).
"Investing in DRR is crucial as the country contends with meteorologic, seismic, and volcanic events. We should not let our guards down even with our tools, systems and technologies," Philippine Council for Industry, Energy, Emerging Technology Research and Development (PCIEERD) executive director Enrico Paringit told the Philippine News Agency on Tuesday.
He said for the past 10 years, about 8 percent of the total Grants-in-Aid Program budgets of the DOST and PCIEERD was allocated for projects related to DRR.
Among the DRR-related projects that have started implementation this year are
development of artificial groundwater recharge facility for drought and flooding mitigation, Drainage Crawler/Probe Development for Drainage Inspection (DraCrawla) Project, POSTE (Interconnected Poste Kits for Environmental Sensing) Project, Collaborative Aerial-ground unmanned system for exploration and monitoring of Philippine active volcanoes, and the Survey of Heatwaves in the Philippine Seas (SHIPS).
Paringingit, meanwhile, called on government agencies to partner with researchers to ensure that their outputs conform with expectations and meet operational requirements.
"We likewise invite the local government and the private sector to adopt these tools and make (these) available to the most vulnerable communities," he said. (PNA)
