COA flags P256 million idle rain stations

MANILA, Philippines —  The Commission on Audit (COA) has called out the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) over P256.07 million worth of hydrometeorological or hydromet stations set up nationwide which remain idle for over a year.

In its 2023 annual audit report on PAGASA, the COA said a validation by its audit team revealed that over a hundred hydromet stations installed in strategic places nationwide, with an estimated value of P256.074 million, were no longer operational or were “no longer sending rainfall/water level data” to the state weather forecasting bureau’s central server in Quezon City.

The audit body said the hydromet stations, if only continuously maintained and utilized, could have “marginally improved” the agency’s rainfall forecasting and warning system and information dissemination especially to flood-prone communities.

The COA said that of the 1,825 hydromet stations inspected by the audit team in September 2022, 13.48 percent or 246 stations were “not operational and cannot be rehabilitated anymore” while 10.08 percent or 184 stations “needed rehabilitation.”