Duterte OKs DOST-developed tech that locates hazards in PH

FILE: President Rodrigo Roa Duterte presides over the 39th Cabinet Meeting at the Malacañan Palace on July 1, 2019. ROBINSON NIÑAL JR./PRESIDENTIAL PHOTO

MANILA — President Rodrigo Duterte has approved two technologies that will help the government collect data for environmental hazards and assess situations for immediate disaster response.

Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo said Duterte approved the Department of Science and Technology (DOST)-developed technologies during the Cabinet meeting on Monday night.

“(These technologies were) approved by the President and the Cabinet,” Panelo said in a statement.

He said one of the technologies, GeoRisk Philippines Initiative, is meant to further improve data gathering for environment hazards, Panelo said.

“It is an integrated system or database where one can map or locate hazards in a specific location and view it on an application called the Hazard Hunter Philippines,” he added.

Panelo said another application is the Situation Data Mapper, which “receives real time assessment on a situation and can provide analysis for high level decisions for disaster response”.

He, meanwhile, said the DOST has recommended that all agencies update and share with them their hazard information to further develop the system.