PhilSA Project Aims to Empower LGUs, Research Sector in Using Space Data

The Philippine Space Agency (PhilSA) recently launched project PINAS, or the PhilSA Integrated Network for Space-Enabled Actions towards Sustainability, in a bid to empower multiple sectors in accessing and utilizing space data.

PINAS will be implemented by the PhilSA Space Information Infrastructure Bureau (SIIB), according to a press release by PhilSA on June 23. The project will have three phases, namely network building, capacity building, and buildup and expansion.

PINAS' pre-implementation workshop was conducted by PhilSA SIIB last June 17 at Esca's Garden in Iloilo City, where more than 100 attendees from Iloilo's local government units, regional government agencies, and non-government organizations participated. They hailed from various sectors, from agriculture and disaster risk reduction management (DRRM) to urban and rural planning and environment monitoring and natural resources management, among others.

"PINAS will be an active community of national government agencies, local government units, research institutions, the civil society, and the private sector, working collaboratively on the socially-responsive use of space data and information,” SIIB Director Dr. Ariel C. Blanco was quoted as saying.

During the workshop, PhilSA Deputy Director General Dr. Gay Jan Perez highlighted the relevance of space data from satellites, saying this can be used for planning, monitoring, and policymaking.

Alan Moscoso, a researcher at the University of the Philippines Visayas (UPV), also shared how UPV utilizes space science to detect changes in the environment. This includes, as per the release, "detecting topographical changes in the UPV Miagao Campus by studying enhanced vegetation index through time."

"Capacity-building activities will begin in 2023," the release read. "The creation of the network data-sharing system and expansion of the said system to other LGUs and sectors in the research community and civil society are also set for next year.”