President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. has enacted into law the PHIVOLCS Modernization Act a landmark legislation to facilitate the upgrading of the country’s disaster monitoring capabilities through the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS).
Republic Act No. 12180 was enacted to strengthen the agency by providing it with state-of-the-art instruments, expanding its network of seismic monitoring stations, and enhancing its workforce with highly trained personnel. All these upgrades aim to significantly bolster the country’s capability to detect and respond to earthquakes, volcanic activity, and other seismic events, particularly in high-risk communities.
The law on PHIVOLCS is a major change in the area of physical resources and applicable standards in operations. It involves the acquisition and development of state-of-the-art equipment, facilities, and systems that will enable the agency to generate timely, accurate, and localized transactions. The expected improvements will be an important part of disaster preparedness, climate change adaptation, water resource management, agriculture, health, transport, tourism, and other major sector functions.
There are also futurized elements of the legislation related to research and development. It will promote a systematic way of innovating by integrating the new methods aimed at improving PHIVOLCS’ operations and scientific capabilities.
A noteworthy addition is the increase in the monitoring stations in various strategic areas across the country; thus putting PHIVOLCS in a more optimal position, even among the underserved and rural areas.
