PRESIDENT Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III ordered the review of country's weather forecasting system in lieu of the "wrong" advisory Tuesday.
At a Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office meeting in Camp Aguinaldo Wednesday, the President hit weather officials, saying: "This is not acceptable."
"I did not get the information that the storm will change its course. For all I know it will only pass through Aurora province, nobody told me that it will hit Manila," the President fumed, hitting officials of Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa).
Pagasa Chief Prisco Nilo explained that the existing weather equipment could only track typhoon direction every six hours, citing that the storm as of 11:00 p.m. Tuesday were gearing toward Bulacan and Central Luzon but not Metro Manila.
However, the million residents of the country's capital were surprised when strong winds and heavy rains hit the area past midnight.
"What is your problem? Tell us what you need. We can give you what you need," Aquino told Nilo, hoping that this will be the last for error in forecasting.
He said the government is willing to allot budget to improve the weather system for accurate advisories.
Pagasa reasons
But Nilo said they have exerted all efforts to remind the public on tropical storm Basyang.
"He did not scold us. He was just asking for details regarding the storm and on how the government can help in improving Pagasa's forecasting system, among other things," he pointed out.
He added that the typhoon had a radius of 250 kilometers and its strong winds prompted blackouts across the capital and nearby provinces.
Deputy Director for research and development Nathaniel Servando, for his part, said Pagasa will be able to make better weather forecasts once the other Doppler radars will be installed.
As of the moment, Pagasa has two working Doppler radar stations, one in Baguio City and in Baler, Aurora, which was used to measure the amount of rainfall that fell in the affected Luzon provinces.
Based on the agency's 24-hour monitoring, Basyang dumped 131 millimeters of rainfall in Port Area, Manila; 89 mm in Infanta, Quezon; 137 mm in Alabat, Quezon; 93.4 mm in Daet, Camarines Norte; 44 mm in Legaspi City, Albay; 90.8 mm in Virac, Catanduanes; and 160 mm in Tayabas, Quezon.
The state weather bureau also recorded 123.9 mm of rainfall and gustiness of 85 kph at Sangley Point in Cavite; 74.2 mm of rainfall and gustiness of 55 kph at Pagasa's Science Garden; 95 kph gustiness at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA); 89.4 mm in Calapan, Oriental Mindoro; 218.5 mm in Ambulong Island, Occidental Mindoro; and Tanay, Rizal has experienced 85 kph winds and 108.2 mm of rainfall.(Jill Beltran/Virgil Lopez/Sunnex)