Marcos inks law for Phivolcs upgrade, ₱7B in budget

Metro Manila, Philippines - The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) is set to be modernized and upgraded within five-years with a ₱7 billion budget, according to a newly-enacted law signed by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

Marcos signed the Phivolcs Modernization Act, or Republic Act No. 12180, on April 15 but was only made public on Friday.

The new law seeks to provide the agency with state-of-the-art equipment, highly-trained personnel, and more seismic stations that shall effectively increase the capability to detect and locate earthquake, volcanic and seismic events, particularly in communities at risk.

It also pushes for advanced research and development capabilities aimed at the improvement of vital operations of the agency.

Aside from this, the enforcement of the law also means an expansion of volcanological and seismological monitoring stations in various regions nationwide.

RA 12180 also created a Phivolcs Modernization Fund which is a separate allocation from the Department of Science and Technology’s (DOST) appropriations.

Under this new Act, ₱7 billion is earmarked for this five-year fund with ₱1.25 billion per year for the first four years and ₱2 billion for the fifth year of implementation.

This law exempts allocations from donors’ taxes the donations, grants, gifts, endowments, legacies and contributions used by Phivolcs and such donations will be considered as allowable gross income tax deductions.

This Act also mandates the Phivolcs executive director to submit an annual report on the implementation status of the modernization program to the President through the DOST secretary, and to the chairpersons of the committees on science and technology of both chambers of Congress.