FOURTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE REPUBLIC) 
OF THE PHILIPPINES 
) 
First Regular Session 
) 
SENf 
S. No. 
Introduced by Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago 
EXPLANATORY NOTE 
Reliable and accessible information on the weather is essential for agricultural producers. 
It is an important factor in crop planning and management. The type of crop to be planted is 
mainly dependent on existing weather and climactic conditions. Certain types of crops are 
suitable only for the wet season and will not thrive during the dry season. 
Accurate weather information is also significant in minimizing the losses caused by 
extreme changes in the weather condition. These weather disturbances usually occur 
unexpectedly. Every year, agricultural crops worth millions of pesos are lost/damaged by such 
unforeseen weather disturbances. These losses are caused by the lack or inadequacy of weather 
information that will enable agricultural producers to take the necessary precaution against 
natural calamities. 
This bill seeks the establishment of an Agricultural Weather Office which shall be 
responsible for the collection and distribution of weather information that will address the needs 
of agricultural producers.* 
*This bill was originally filed during the Thirteenth Congress, First Regular Session. 


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FOURTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE REPUBLIC) 
OF THE PHILIPPINES 
1 
First Regular Session 
1 
SE 
S. No. 
Introduced by Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago 
AN ACT 
PROVIDING FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT OF AN AGRICULTURE WEATHER OFFICE 
Be it enacted by the Senate und the House of Representatives of the Philippines in 
Congress assembled: 
SECTION 1. Short Title. -This Act shall be known as the “National Agriculture Weather 
Information Act of 2007.” 
SECTION 2. Definition of Terms. -For the purposes of this Act, the term: 
(A) “Secretary” means the Secretary of the Department of Agriculture; 
(B) “Director” means the Director of the Agriculture Weather Office; and 
(C) “Office” means the Agricultural Weather Office 
SECTION 3. Establishment of the Agriculture Weather Office. - 
(A) Establishment Required. - The Secretary of Agriculture shall establish within the 
Department of Agriculture an Agricultural Weather Office to plan and administer the National 
Agricultural Weather Information System. The System shall be comprised of the Office 
established under this section and the activities of the Regional Agricultural Weather Information 
Systems described in Section 8 of this Act. 
(B) Director. -- The Secretary shall appoint a Director to manage the activities of the 
Agricultural Weather Office and to advise the Secretary on scientific and pragmatic coordination 
for climate, weather, and remote sensing. 
SECTION 4. Authority. - The Secretary, acting through the Office, may undertake the 
following activities to carry out the provisions of this Act: 
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(A) Enter into cooperative projects with the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and 
Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) and other related government 
agencies to - 
(1) Support operational weather forecasting and observation useful in agriculture; 
(2) Sponsor joint workshops to train agriculturalists about the optimum utilization 
of agricultural weather and climate data; 
(3) Jointly develop improved computer models and computing capacity; and 
(4) Enhance the quality and availability of weather and climate information 
needed by agriculturalists; 
(B) Obtain standardized weather observation data collected in near real time through 
regional Agricultural Weather Information Systems; 
(C) Make, through the Department of Science and Technology, competitive grants 
under Section 6 of this Act for research in atmospheric science and climatology; 
(D) Make grants to eligible provinces under Section 8 of this Act to plan and administer 
Regional Agricultural Weather Information Systems; 
Coordinate the activities of the Office with the weather and climate research 
activities of the Department of Science and Technology; and 
(E) 
(F) Encourage private sector participation in the National Agricultural Weather 
Information System through mutually beneficial cooperation with the private sector 
particularly in the generation of weather and climatic data usehl for site-specific 
agricultural forecasting. 
SECTION 5. Weather Information Collection and Distribution to Agricultural 
Producers. - 
(A) As one of the cooperative projects authorized by Section 4(1), the Secretary of 
Agriculture shall enter into an agreement with the Secretary of the Department of Science and 
Technology (DOST) to use PAGASA's regional offices to collect, organize, and distribute 
information aimed at meeting the short-term and long-term weather and climate information 
needs of agricultural producers. 
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(El) Information Collection. - The Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary of Science 
and Technology shall jointly develop a system for the collection by the PAGASA of weather and 
climate information that is relevant to agricultural producers and available through the 
Agricultural Weather Office and other related agencies, regional agricultural weather 
information systems and other State programs, colleges and universities, and the private weather 
consulting sector. 
(C) Methods of Distribution. - Weather and climate information collected under this 
section shall be distributed to agricultural producers through the use of - 
(1) Weekly publications containing weather forecasts and other information 
regarding anticipated temperatures and precipitatiou levels; 
(2) Toll-free and local telephone numbers that agricultural producers can call to 
obtain immediate information to assist with specific day-to-day production 
activities; and 
(3) Such other methods as the Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary of 
Science and Technology considers appropriate to distribute such weather and 
climate information to agricultural producers in a timely manner. 
(D) Report. - Not later than one (1) year after the date of promulgation of this Act, the 
secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary of Science and Technology shall jointly submit a 
report to Congress analyzing the effectiveness of the cooperative project required by paragraph 
(A) of this Section, in providing relevant weather and climate information to agricultural 
producers. The report shall include a description of the number of agricultural producers who 
obtained weather information through the project and an estimate of whether the project 
improved farm profitability for participating producers. 
SECTION 6. Competitive Grants Program. - 
(A) Grants Authorized. - With funds allocated to carry out this Act, the Secretary may 
make grants to State agricultural experiment stations, publidprivate colleges and universities 
other research institutions and organizations, private organizations and corporations, and 
individuals to carry out research in all aspects of atmosphere sciences and climatology that can be 
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shown to be important in a basic and developmental way to understanding, forecasting and 
delivering agricultural weather in€ormation. 
(B) Competitive Basis. - Grants made under this section shall be made on a competitive 
basis. 
(C) Priority. - In selecting among applications for grants under paragraph (A) of this 
Section, the Secretary shall give priority to proposals which emphasize - 
(1) Techniques and processes that relate to weather-induced agricultural losses, 
and to improving the advisory information on weather extremes such as 
drought, floods, and storms well in advance of their actual occurrence; 
(2) The improvement of site-specific weather data collection and forecasting; or 
(3) The impact of weather on economic and environmental costs in agricultural 
production. 
SECTION I .  National Advisory Board on Agricultural Weather. - 
(A) Establishment Required. - The Secretary of Agriculture shall establish an Advisory 
Board on Agricultural Weather (herein after referred to in this section as the “Board”) to advise 
the Director of the Agricultural Weather Office with respect to carrying out the provisions of this 
Act. 
(B) Composition. - The Board shall be composed of nine (9) members, to be appointed 
by the Secretary of Agriculture in consultation with the Secretary of Science and Technology. 
Four (4) members shall come from the private sector, two (2) of whom shall be agricultural 
producers, and the other two (2), .agricultural or atmospheric scientists. 
(C) Chairperson. -The Board shall elect a chairperson from among its members. 
(D) Term. - Each Board member shall be appointed for a three-year term, except that to 
ensure that members of the Board serve staggered terms, the Secretary shall appoint three (3) of 
the original members of the Board for a term of one (1) year and another three (3) of the original 
members for a term of two (2) years. 
(E) Meetings. - The Board shall meet not less than twice annually. 
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(F) Compensation. - Members of the Board shall serve without compensation, but while 
away from their homes or regular places of business in the performance of services for the 
Board, members of the Board shall be allowed travel expenses, including per diem allowance in 
lieu of subsistence, in the same manner as individuals employed in Government service are 
allowed travel expenses. 
SECTION 8. Regional Agricultural Weather Information Systems. - 
(A) Advisory Program Grants. - Grants required. With funds allocated to carry out this 
Act, the Secretary shall make grants to eligible provinces, each region (refers to the twelve (12) 
regions of the Philippines and the autonomous regions created by law) to be represented by one 
(1) province to plan and administer, in cooperation with persons described in the next paragraph, 
advisory programs for regional agricultural weather information systems. 
The persons referred to in the above paragraph are the Director of the Agricultural 
Weather Office, the Director of the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical 
Services, and other persons as appropriate, such as the directors of the appropriate State 
agricultural experiment stations and State extension programs. 
(B) Consultation. - For purposes of selecting among applications submitted by provinces 
for grants under this section, the Secretary shall take into consideration the recommendation of 
the Advisory Board on Agricultural Weather and consult with the Director. 
(C) Eligibility Requirements. - To be eligible to receive a grant under this Section, the 
chief executive officer of a province shall submit to the Secretary an application that contains 
(1) Assurances that the province will expend such grant to plan and administer a 
Regional Agricultural Weather System that will - 
(a) Collect observational weather data throughout the region and provide 
such data to the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and 
Astronomical Services Administration and the Agricultural Weather 
Office; 
(b) Develop methods for packaging information received from the 
national system for use by agricultural producers with the PAGASA 
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and the private sector to serve as the primary conduit of agricultural 
weather forecasts and climatic information to producers; and 
(c) Develop programs to educate agricultural producers on how to best use 
weather and climate information to improve crop planning and 
management decision; and 
(2) Such other assurances and information as the Secretary may require by rule. 
SECTION 9. Appropriation. - The amount of One Million Pesos (Pl,OOO,OOO.OO) is 
hereby appropriated to carry out the provisions of this Act. Subsequent appropriations for the 
implementation of this Act shall be included in the annual General Appropriations Act. 
SECTION 10. Separability Clause. - If any provision or part hereof is held invalid or 
unconstitutional, the remainder of the law or the provision not otherwise affected shall remain 
valid and subsisting. 
SECTION 11. Repealing Clause. - Any law, presidential decree or issuance, executive 
order, letter of instruction, administrative order, rule or regulation contrary to or inconsistent 
with, the provisions of this Act is hereby repealed, modified, or amended accordingly. 
SECTION 12. Effectivity Clause. - This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its 
publication in at least two (2) newspapers of general circulation. 
Approved, 
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