MANILA--The country's faith in the weather bureau may soon be restored, Senator Edgardo Angara said Sunday.

"The officials at Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) showed competence and stood by their bulletin even when it contradicted with other international weather agencies," he said.

Pagasa insisted that Typhoon Juan (Megi) will make a landfall in Isabela province instead of Cagayan as international weather experts predicted.

Although Isabela suffered much destruction when the typhoon hit, Angara said Pagasa forecasts allowed residents to prepare for the worst.

"We have been very critical of Pagasa, especially since Basyang. We must also give credit on their accurate forecasts about Typhoon Juan. It shows that they learned from their mistakes," Angara added.

In July, Pagasa forecasted that Basyang (Conson) would batter Central Luzon but it changed course and hit Metro Manila instead.

The weather bureau was only able to raise a storm warning few hours before Basyang hit.(Jonathan de Santos/Sunnex)