Senator Mark Villar wants a stronger heat index monitoring system in the country similar to the alert system used during other calamities.
Villar filed Resolution No. 590 urging the proper Senate committee to conduct an inquiry in aid of legislation for the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) to develop and strengthen the existing heat index monitoring in the Philippines.
The senator cited reports on several students who were taken to hospitals due to intense heat.
He specifically cited an instance in Laguna where 120 students were rushed to hospitals after they collapsed during a fire drill in a school in Cabuyao. Villar also mentioned an incident in Taytay, Palawan, where 90 persons felt dizzy and collapsed because of too much heat.
Villar said the inquiry aims to assess the current status of heat index monitoring and warning systems in the country, identify the potential impacts of extreme heat on public health and the economy, and determine the best practices and technologies on heat index monitoring and alert systems in other countries.
“By providing our countrymen with sufficient and early information through text messages and other technologies we can save lives and prevent any other heat-related incidents to occur,” he said.
“I am committed to ensuring the safety and well-being of all Filipinos. This inquiry is necessary to ensure that appropriate preventive measures will be taken when the heat index reached dangerous levels,” Villar added.
Villar also said that these heat-related illnesses affect not only the public’s health but also the agricultural and industrial sector’s productivity, ultimately affecting the country’s economy and social welfare.