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Typhoon Juan was so strong that when it hit Palanan Bay, Isabela, last October 18, it packed sustained winds of 225 kilometers per hour.
And Pagasa was ready for it – and even more super howlers could be coming.
The typhoon season lasts until December and Juan was only the 10th of about 20 tropical depressions that batter the country each year.
The current La Nina weather could also spawn strong typhoons as it did with Typhoon Milenyo in 2006.
Typhoon Juan “was a test of fire,” said Science Secretary Mario Montejo. “We had the confidence based on competence and science.”
It was not by chance that Typhoon Juan was tracked meticulously, he said: “Before the typhoon formed in the Pacific, we were holding dry runs for such an event.”
“This time, we were frantic, badgering our field men for local data, and we had a sort of pass-your-paper, finish-or-not-finish deadlines,” Montejo said.
“We believe it's repeatable,” he said, referring to the more accurate and timely forecasting.
For the first time, the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration, an agency of the Department of Science and Technology, had hourly weather reports, tracking the storm, predicting where it'll hit “almost to the town” long before Juan made landfall, said Montejo.
“If it veered a bit, we knew exactly where,” he said.

 

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As heavy flooding swept some parts of the Cagayan Region due to heavy rains the past few days, the region sees clear days ahead at least in the next two years as the Department of Science and Technology and the Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate (NVE) of the Kingdom of Norway signed a Memorandum of Agreement for the improvement of the flood forecasting and warning system for the Magat Dam and downstream communities.

Present during the MOA signing was Department of Science and Technology Secretary Mario G. Montejo; His Excellency Knut Solem, Ambassador of Norway to the Philippines; Mr. Kjell Repp, Manager of the International Affairs, NVE; and Dr. Nathaniel T. Servando, Officer-in-Charge of the Office of the Administrator of DOST’s Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA).

The project will enhance the flood forecasting and early warning capability of PAGASA in the Cagayan river basin and the Magat Dam operations. This will help reduce the loss of lives and damage to properties during floods brought about by heavy rains.

According to the MOA, the NOK 10,700,000 million project will help restore the telecommunication system and rehabilitate the monitoring facilities of the existing flood forecasting and warning system and the flood forecasting and warning system for dam operations. The MOA also covers the installation of additional monitoring stations.

DOST and NVE also greed to jointly conduct research on an integrated weather and flood forecasting system; establish a decision support system; and conduct training and capacity building activities, as well as intensive public information drives and campaigns for stakeholders and the public.

 

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The Department of Science and Technology (DOST) and the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPO) recently issued the implementing rules and regulations (IRR) of Republic Act 10055, otherwise known as the Technology Transfer Act of 2009.

The Technology Transfer Act is a landmark law that would usher the growth of the country’s innovation potential through efficient transfer of technologies, specifically those funded by public funds.

The IRR, contained in the Joint DOST-IPO Administrative Order 02-2010, was jointly signed on August 19 by DOST Secretary Mario G. Montejo and IPO Director General Ricardo R. Blancaflor in their capacities as chair and co-chair, respectively, of the Joint IRR Drafting Committee. The IRR took effect on September 8.

The IRR underlines the main intent of the law, which is lodging ownership of the intellectual property rights (IPRs) to research and development institutes (RDIs), by setting parameters on copyright ownership and recovery of the IPR ownership.

To facilitate commercialization of IPRs through spin offs, the IRR provides for the rules of the Fairness Opinion Report and the Fairness Opinion Board. The Fairness Opinion Report is an alternative to the rigid government procurement process which usually hampers efficient transfer of technologies to the market.

Common provisions, involving stipulations in the research funding agreement, protection of undisclosed information, and rules on disclosure are also included in the IRR.

In terms of revenue sharing, the provisions in the research agreement or the employer-employee contract shall govern. In any case, however, the term revenue shall be defined in the agreement and where practicable, non-monetary revenues will be converted to cash.

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“Ulod sa bunga sa lanka,” technically the jackfruit fruit borer (Glyphodes caesalis Walker), is becoming a major insect pest, especially in Eastern Visayas. The fruit borer causes about 30‒40% damage in jackfruit from flower bud formation up to fruit ripening.

With the move to expand the jackfruit production areas in the region, this borer may potentially become an expensive thorn in the side of jackfruit growers. Fortunately, nature itself presents the solution - Metarhizium anisopliae (Metch) Sorokin.

M. anisopliae is a fungus known worldwide and proven to control various pests. This prompted local researchers Dr. Carlos S. de la Cruz of the Department of Agriculture – Regional Integrated Agricultural Research Center (DA-RIARC) and Dr. Ruben M. Gapasin of the Visayas State University (VSU) to test different Metarhizium isolates against the jackfruit borer.

After isolating the fungus from various infected insect pests, De la Cruz and Gapasin found that Metarhizium isolates from sweet potato weevils most effectively controlled the jackfruit fruit borer.