Palasyo, pinawi ang pangambang exodus sa Pagasa

Thursday, 12 July 2012 00:06

Pinamamadali na ng Malacaang sa Department of Budget and Management ang pagsasaayos sa reklamo ng mga Pagasa forecasters kaugnay sa tinanggal na benepisyo.

Magugunitang nagbababanta ang mga senior officials ng Pagasa na maaaring mauwi sa exodus kung hindi maibabalik ang tinanggal na hazards pay simula noong Marso.

Sinabi ni Deputy Presidential Spokesperson Abigail Valte, sinuspinde lamang ang nasabing benepisyo dahil nagkaroon ng funding problem noong nakaraang taon at hinahanapan pa ng pondo.

Ayon kay Valte, nakipagpulong na ang mga opisyal ng Pagasa sa DBM kahapon kung saan naging maganda ang resulta ng pag-uusap.

Tiniyak din umano ng presidente ng unyon sa Pagasa na hindi mag-aalisan palabas ng bansa para magtrabaho sa abroad ang mga weather forecasters.

Una, hindi po tinanggal yong kanilang hazard pay, sinuspendi lang po ito dahil nagkaroon na sila ng maliit na funding problem. And in fact, we were informed by Director Liboro of the DOST na nakipagpulong po ang mga opisyal ng Pagasa kahapon doon sa mgta opisyal ng DBM dahil ire-review na raw po ng DBM yong kanilang financial report of operations para naman po mahanapan ng pondo yong kanilang hazard pay, ani Valte. Yes, certainly. Aware naman po ang DBM doon which is in fact why they were able to meet again yesterday and very hopeful naman po yong Pagasa officials natin on their...as to the results of their meeting with officials of the DBM.

HERE IS THE LINK: (http://bomboradyo.com/news/latest-news/119877-palasyo-pinawi-angpangambang-exodus-sa-pagasa)

Exodus of personnel may hurt PAGASA operations

ABS-CBNnews.com Posted at 07/11/2012 4:09 PM | Updated as of 07/11/2012 5:04 PM MANILA, Philippines - A storm is again brewing inside the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) with the impending exodus of its workers who are seeking better economic opportunities overseas.

According to Ramon Agustin, president of the Philippine Weathermen Association (PWEA), many PAGASA employees are opting for an early retirement or seeking job opportunities overseas after the General Appropriations Act of 2012 suspended the Magna Carta benefits since March of this year. With their present take home pay minus the Magna Carta benefits, they hardly live a decent life much less cope with day to day survival," Agustin said in a statement. Agustin fears that if the exodus situation worsens, the state weather bureau's service efficiency could be severely affected. "The country would be courting danger if we allow inexperienced technical workforce to run PAGASA," he warned. There have been alarming reports, he said, that PAGASA employees fail to report for work due to lack of money for transportation. He added employees' limited resources are alloted for their family's food. He maintained that PAGASA's investments in terms of modern equipment and facilities may no longer be that vital once the agency continues to lose experienced personnel. Meanwhile, Malacanang on Wednesday clarified that the benefits--the hazard and longevity pay--were only suspended pending availability of funds. Hindi po ito tinanggal, unang-una. Pangalawa, sinuspindi lang po ito pending the availability of funds dahil nagkaroon po yata sila ng funding problem from last year, said Deputy Presidential Spokesperson Abigail Valte. Valte said the Department of Budget and Management is now addressing the issue. So ngayon po nasa Department of Budget and Management na po at ina-assess yung magiging savings nung ahensya para po doon sa mga hazard pay for March onwards, Valte said. She claimed the PAGASA employees have assured the government that they will not leave the agency nor hold protest actions against the administration. Sabi po noong presidente ng unyon, yung Weathermen Association, na nag-assure po sila na wala naman po silang, una, balak mag-strike, wala po silang balak umalis, she claimed.

HERE IS THE LINK: (http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/07/11/12/exodus-personnel-may-hurt-pagasa-operations)

PAGASA forecasters hoping for return of benefits soon

July 12, 2012 9:17am Forecasters of the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration are hoping their benefits, which were suspended due to lack of funds, would be restored soonest. PAGASA forecaster Chris Perez said in a radio interview Thursday they are overworked and underpaid, with only public service driving them to continue working. "Hopefully (mababalik ang benepisyo) the sooner the better," Perez said in an interview on dzBB radio. Earlier, the Philippine Weathermen Employees Association had complained of its members not receiving their hazard and longevity pay since March. The benefits are mandated by Republic Act No. 8439, the Magna Carta for Scientists, Engineers, Researchers and other Science and Technology Personnel in Government. Under the law, forecasters are given a hazard allowance of 10 to 30 percent of their monthly salary, and a longevity pay amounting to five percent of the monthly salary for every five years of continuous and meritorious service. On Thursday, Philippine Weathermen Employees Association president Ramon Agustin assured they would not go on strike but said they are finding it hard to get to work due to their financial constraints, radio dzBB's Allan Gatus reported. In Malacaang, deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said the hazard and longevity pay were not removed but "only suspended because of a small funding problem. Perez admitted PAGASA forecasters are among the most overworked public servants, not being able to go home when there is a cyclone threatening the country. In many cases, he said they have had to work several days straight, with no time to even take a shower. "Minsan kahit di nakaligo, at least maghilamos at magsipilyo... At lalo na kaming forecaster sa forecasting center basta nasa operation bihira ma-enjoy ang holidays. Kung may bagyo, the more dapat pumasok," he said. He said they could do little except think this is all for public service. "Isa sa atin yang sakripisyong ginagawa natin alang-alang sa pag-provide ng public service," he said. KG, GMA News

HERE IS THE LINK: (http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/265110/news/nation/pagasa-forecasters-hoping-forreturn-of-benefits-soon)

Exodus of weathermen to other countries alarms Congress

By CHARISSA M. LUCI March 3, 2011, 5:38pm MANILA, Philippines Alarmed by the exodus of weather forecasters to foreign countries, Alyansa ng mga Grupo ng Haligi ng Agham at Teknolohiya para sa Mamamayan (AGHAM) Rep. Angelo Palmones is pushing for an increase in salary of officials and employees of the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, Astronomical and Seismological Administration (PAGASA). In his House Bill 2004, he batted that the weather bureaus 1, 452 employees should be exempted from the Salary Standardization Law. He noted that about 608 have bachelor's degrees, 44 with Master's degrees and 10 with doctoral degrees. "This miniscule number of highly trained personnel is under constant threat of being depleted due to the lure of higher-paying jobs overseas," Palmones said. Under HB 2004, the Department of Budget Management (DBM), the Civil Service Commission (CSC) and the Department of Science and Technology (DoST) shall determine the salary of the PAGASA people. Also covered by the exemption are office and administrative personnel since weather forecasting starts from the gathering of meteorological data from the field which are fed the PAGASA Central Office for processing, analysis, and forecasting of extreme weather events such as typhoons, floods and storm surges. Palmones said that at present, the highest salary for a PAGASA official with a PhD is at the level of P20,000 only, compared to P100,000 to P200,000 being received by former PAGASA employees who left the country to serve as forecasters in other countries. "The ability of PAGASA to make accurate weather forecasts is hampered either by outdated forecasting equipment or simply lack of it. But equally important in the forecasting of weather events are the personnel who collect weather data from the field, process the data, make analysis and forecasts and ultimately inform the public of the impending weather situation," he said.
HERE IS THE LINK: (http://www.mb.com.ph/node/307311/exodu) A comment from BadWX, see this link: (http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20060911144731AAha9Uc)

Weather forecasts aren't always wrong. If they were, then you could depend on that inaccuracy and turn it around to create accurate forecasts.

Having said that...take it from someone who has spent the last 25 years getting paid to forecast the weather..... Ready..... A WEATHER FORECAST IS NOTHING MORE THAN AN EDUCATED GUESS!! Meteorology IS an exact science, basically just applied physics. We (meteorologists) can write great forecasts as long as we follow the rules about what goes where when. Unfortunately, we and Ma Nature aren't always on the same page. Why? Because, weather, is driven by heating this globe of gasses by a furnace of incomprehensible size. It's like dropping a stick in a stream and then forecasting where it will be in "x" number of hours. The further the distance or the greater the amount of time the less likely that forecast is going to be accurate, because more things can happen. A fish could jump, another stick could fall in, etc. And the rules become far and far less established the further out you go. It wasn't that long ago (10 years) that a 3 to 5 day forecast had an accuracy rating of about 35%. Now it's closer to about 60%. Unless, it is the fall or spring when thing are way more volatile. Then the accuracy rating drops significantly. Unless, we are talking about a big arctic high that does nothing more than make things clear and cold, and then the forecast accuracy goes up. Getting the picture? In addition, though, is communicating that forecast to the general public. If I tell you the forecast for Wednesday is for partly cloudy skies with a few isolated thunderstorms, and it doesn't rain on you...was the forecast right or wrong. Maybe it rained down the street (isolated thunderstorms do that). What if I tell you we will see periods of light rain wiith NW winds of 20 to 30 mph....and it rains, but the winds were SW. Was the forecast wrong? No? What if you cared more about the winds (like a pilot or someone working on a tower) than the rain?

Forecasting the weather is tricky, it is fun and you need a very thick skin because people will tear into you left and right...not because you got the forecast wrong...but because they DONT like the weather and expect you to change it.