Government efforts to anticipate disasters before they hit gained ground with a fresh P1-billion outlay directed at the University of the Philippines, funding the AI-driven flood forecasting and live hazard-tracking work behind Project NOAH.
The bulk of the money, P935 million, is earmarked for research services, according to the Department of Budget and Management. The remaining P65 million covers general management and supervision as the program is rolled out.
At the technical core of the initiative is a mix of AI-enhanced modeling, LiDAR mapping, and data analytics that together produce real-time hazard readings, predictive flood scenarios, and science-grounded information. The release, the DBM said, will bankroll the purchase and installation of specialized ICT, digital, technical, and scientific equipment, bring in highly skilled technical staff, and set up the operational systems that underpin the country’s forecasting and hazard-assessment work.
DBM Acting Secretary Kim Robert De Leon framed the spending as a deliberate move away from reacting to calamities and toward heading them off. “This…is an investment in prevention. We are putting science, AI, and real-time hazard information to work so [the] government can act earlier, communities can prepare better, and more Filipino lives and livelihoods can be protected,” he said.
Carried out by the UP Resilience Institute, Project NOAH pushes forward disaster risk reduction and management alongside climate change adaptation and mitigation, working through research, development, and extension services. The DBM cast the allocation as part of a broader administration push to ground disaster management in science, technology, and data rather than after-the-fact response.
De Leon tied the value of the outlay to the losses it could avert. “The best disaster management is when we are able to prevent disasters from becoming a catastrophe. Every peso we invest in better forecasting and preparedness can help save lives, protect livelihoods, and avoid far greater losses later on,” he said.
