The Department of Science and Technology (DOST) with its concerned division the Advanced Science and Technology Institute (ASTI) led the inauguration of the Ground Receiving Station (GRS) in Dumangas Iloilo, March 10, 2023.
The Dumangas GRS is the only satellite in the Visayas and third in the whole country including the ones in the Quezon City in Luzon and the other in Davao in Mindanao.
The GRS is directly connected to DIWATA 2 micro-satellite and it can provide data about earth’s environment, weather patterns and other important phenomenon.
This initiative of establishing GRS is under the project Understanding Lightning and Thunderstorms (ULAT) of the DOST-ASTI that aims to study behavior of lightning and thunderstorms and to predict the amount of rain especially during rainy and stormy seasons; in which, the data gathered can be used in forecasting and disaster preparation.
Along with the putting up of this GRS was the establishment of Knowledge Center for Weather Atmospheric Astronomical and Geophysical Observation (KWAAGO), where satellite captured data images are displayed, read and analyzed.
During the opening program, DOST Undersecretary Leah Buendia mentioned that the project was made possible through cooperation. She thanked the DOST-ASTI, JICA, Japanese partners (from Hokkaido University and Japan Science and Technology University) Dumangas LGU, ISATU and among other groups and individuals for making the project realized.
“I would like to extend my gratitude to the Municipality of Dumangas and the Iloilo Science and Technology University and I look forward that the facility would benefit the community and the academe,” Undersecretary Buendia continued.
Engr. Rowen G. Gelonga, Regional Director, DOST VI, explained that the location for the GRS is ideal because of the partnership established in the LGU, the university (ISAT U), private sectors and the science and technology community.
“There is a congruence of the need to have this project and the congruence in order to advance the socio economic development not only of the Dumangas but also of the country as a whole,” Gelonga added.
Present also during the inauguration were representatives of their agency and organization: Mayor Braeden John Biron of the Municipality of Dumangas; Board Member Rolando B. Distura of the Province of Iloilo; President Dr. Raul F. Muyong of ISATU; Sakamoto Takema Chief representative of JICA Philippines; Dr. Franz de Leon, Director of DOST-ASTI; Dr. Joel Joseph Marciano Jr., Director General of PHILSA; and, Prof. Yukihiro Takahashi, Professor of Hokkaido University. Each of them was given the chance to speak about the importance and appreciation of establishing the satellite station the knowledge center.