Marcos bats for agencies’ use of satellite data for agri, business

President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. said Monday he wants various agencies to have access to satellite data that could be used in agriculture, business, and environmental protection.

Marcos, who chairs the Philippine Space Council (PSA), pointed out in a meeting the importance of satellite mapping which could have multiple applications.

“The reason we are signing an MOU (Memorandum of Understanding) with the Space Council is so that we can do mapping because…as I was explaining to you earlier, in terms of green, in terms of bio assets, there is now a way to quantify your nice fisheries, your agricultural activity,” he said.

“It is in terms of how much carbon you’re putting out into the air. But the beginning, the first step of that, will be to map,” he added.

The chief executive said potential investors who may be carbon producers need to balance their activity through the use of mapping data for them to develop a particular bio-diverse area in a certain location.

However, he stressed that it should begin by mapping the entire country in a slightly different way from what was being done.

“So that’s why I was asking you that we have to make sure that the data we give [in] each different department is in a form that they can use,” Marcos said.

He further called on PSA to maximize the Philippines’ partnerships with different international agencies that are involved in imaging and could be useful for the country.

National Space Week

The Philippine Space Agency (PhilSA) also proposed a resolution, declaring the annual celebration of the National Space Week or Pambansang Linggo ng Kalawakan from August 8 to 14 beginning next year.

The National Space Week, which coincides with the enactment of the Philippine Space Act on August 9, 2019, aims to promote space awareness, espouse the benefits of space and its impact on the lives of the people, celebrate the contribution of Filipinos in the field of space, and inspire the future generation.

Marcos also toured the PhilSA exhibits showing the country’s satellite technologies, image acquisition, and processing capabilities through Earth observation satellites.

In October, Marcos Jr. expressed support for the development of the Multi-spectral Unit for Land Assessment (MULA) satellite, which will be the largest Filipino-made satellite. —Giselle Ombay/KG, GMA Integrated News