On April 18, 2023, the Project Landslide Investigations on Geohazards for Timely Advisories in the Philippines (LIGTAS) team led by Dr. Decibel V. Faustino-Eslava, held a meeting with Professor Wei-Yu Chang of National Central University (NCU), Taiwan, to discuss the Phase 3 proposal of the project. The team aims to develop an early warning system for landslides and improve disaster risk reduction and management strategies in the Philippines. Project LIGTAS is a research project funded by the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) and is being monitored by Philippine Council for Industry, Energy and Emerging Technology Research and Development (PCIEERD) under the collaborative researches call by the Manila Economic and Cultural Office (MECO) – Taipei Economic and Cultural Office’s (TECO) for Volcanoes, Oceans, Typhoons, and Earthquakes (VOTE) collaborative researches. 

During the meeting, the team discussed the proposed project details and outputs, including the project information, workflow framework, derived landslide thresholds in the study areas, and the updates on the derived Z-R relations for the improvement of radar data interpretation. The team also presented their plans to harmonize all landslide-related projects in the Philippines.

The proposed Phase 3 plans to incorporate the mechanisms for disaster risk reduction and management of onshore landslides. Mainstreaming and communicating landslide information and advisories will also be one of the components of the project. The implementation of this will be in partnership with the different national government agencies, local government units, and some state universities from different regions of the country. This project also aims to improve the accuracy of landslide forecasts and enhance the early warning system in the country with the help of international collaborators. 

The meeting was held at the central office of the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) and was attended by Dr. Decibel V. Faustino-Eslava (Project Leader), Dr. Juan Miguel R. Guotana (Project Staff), Beth Zaida H. Ugat (Project Technical Assistant V), and Bianca Maria Laureanna P. Pedrezuela (Project Technical Assistant V).

With the proposed Phase 3, the Project LIGTAS team aims to provide timely advisories for landslides in the Philippines, which will greatly benefit communities living in landslide-prone areas. The team is optimistic about the success of the project and looks forward to a productive partnership with its target collaborators. (JJRapisura, BZHUgat, BMLPPedrezuela, MRVRegalado, RMDAreglado)