The "stormy atmosphere" at the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) persisted Tuesday over the ouster of Dr. Prisco Nilo as chief meteorologist. In an interview on dwIZ radio, Nilo said Science Secretary Mario Montejo should not claim credit for the upcoming improvements in weather forecasting, saying he had been working on them before he was removed from his post. "Ang automation, ako ang nagsimula niyan. Hindi niya pwede i-claim ang credit niyan. Actually ongoing ang installation ng ibang equipment sa automation, ang high-speed computing system, tapos iba pang equipment (I started the automation program for weather forecasting. Montejo cannot claim credit for that. At the time I was removed from my post, the installation of automation equipment and high-speed computing systems were already ongoing)," Nilo said. President Benigno Simeon Aquino III sacked Nilo on Friday, a month after scolding the PAGASA chief for his agency's failure to predict that Typhoon Basyang (Conson) would hit Metro Manila. Montejo had named Science Undersecretary Graciano Yumul Jr. as PAGASA officer-in-charge, whose term will last for three months.
Earlier, Montejo admitted he recommended the removal of Nilo from PAGASA, citing the "difference in our mindsets." He said that under the new PAGASA administration, the agency would release updates on tropical cyclones on an hourly basis instead of the previous six-hour intervals.
“Ang mindset natin dapat kaya nating solbin ang problema kahit ano gamit natin. Di natin puwede sabihing wala tayong makina, wala tayong equipment (Our mindset should always be, we can solve the problem despite the lack of machineries and equipment)," he said. However, Nilo said he was probably sacked because the President may have received wrong information about him. Nilo said he had already been working on improving PAGASA's weather forecasting capability when the President sacked him.
"Ang kulang na lang magkaroon ng communication system para ang data sa field observation system mabilis, outdated ang pagpapadala sa forecasting center. Ang budget, P1.8 billion para makumpleto ang automation. Meron pang kulang pero kaunti na lang, ang bulk kulang pa para isagawa ang automation, ang communication system (The only thing missing was the communications system so we can quickly relay data from the field observation units to the forecasting center. We set aside a budget of P1.8 billion to complete the automation. There are areas where we come up short but most of this is in the field of communications systems)," he said.
Nilo not closing door to foreign offers Meanwhile, Nilo hinted he is no longer closing his doors to offers from other agencies, including those from abroad. However, he insisted this will be a last option for him.
"Di natin maitatanggi meron, noon pa yan. Pero yan ay last option natin. Kung first option natin yan matagal na tayo humarurot sa labas ng bansa (I cannot deny I have been receiving offers from abroad for quite some time. But that is my last option. Had it been my first option, I would have left long ago)," he said. On the other hand, he said his stay at PAGASA for nearly 27 years shows his dedication to the agency.
"Nagtagal tayo halos 27 years nanungkulan sa Pagasa. Yan ay katibayan na ang puso ko narito sa ating bansa at di naninilbihan sa ibang bansa (I stayed nearly 27 years at Pagasa. That shows my heart is here and not abroad)," he said. Nilo and his wife both work at PAGASA. Nilo said that as an administrator, his take-home pay was P40,000 per month.
– VVP, GMANews.TV 
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