Public urged: Help guard Phivolcs devices

MANILA, Philippines - Science and Technology Secretary Mario Montejo appealed to the public yesterday to guard the agency’s weather and seismic instruments against thieves and vandals.

Montejo expressed dismay over the theft of earthquake detection equipment in the unmanned relay station of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) near Mayon volcano in Albay recently.

Stolen were several meters of cables and five 12-volt batteries at the Phivolcs seismic relay stations in Sto. Domingo, Albay.

Phivolcs is an attached agency of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST).

“These unscrupulous individuals are not only thieves, they could also qualify as murderers. By stealing cables of seismic sensors to sell for a measly sum, they jeopardize the safety and put at risk the very lives of the people of Albay, their properties, as well as the resources of the province in the event of a major volcanic activity,” Montejo said.

He said the Phivolcs seismic station in Legazpi City has not received any data from the two relay stations in Sto. Domingo town since last Dec. 14.

During inspection, a Phivolcs team discovered that several meters of cables connected to the seismic sensors from the unmanned relay stations and five 12-volt batteries were missing, Montejo said.

The Phivolcs unmanned relay stations are equipped with seismic sensors and radio transceivers that transmit seismic data to the agency’s central station in Quezon City.

These stations transmit vital information on seismic and volcanic activities in Albay.

Phivolcs director Renato Solidum said the incident has caused 50 percent loss in data transmission.

“It is a good thing that Mayon volcano is not active as of this time,” he said.

Solidum said Mayon volcano is under alert level 1, which, in a scale of 0 to 5, is considered abnormal.