On 26 January 2026, the Philippine Space Agency (PhilSA), the European Union Delegation to the Philippines, and the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) convened the third Steering Committee meeting of the EU-funded National Copernicus Capacity Support Action Programme for the Philippines (CopPhil). The meeting brought together national government agencies and European technical partners to review progress and define priorities for the programme’s next implementation phase.
The discussions built directly on the progress achieved over the past year, including the advancement of EO services toward operational readiness, strengthened inter-agency coordination, and expanded national and regional engagement. These milestones, outlined in the article CopPhil in 2025: Strengthening Earth Observation Capacity in the Philippines, showcase how CopPhil continues to consolidate its role as a reference point for EO applications in the Philippines.
A key focus of the Steering Committee was the integration of the co-developed Copernicus-based EO Services including ground motion monitoring, land cover, forest, and crop monitoring, and benthic habitat monitoring into routine institutional workflows. As these services move toward mainstream adoption, CopPhil’s Digital Campus platform provides users with technical resources, documentation, and training materials to support long-term use and integration. Progress on the Copernicus Mirror Site was also reviewed, highlighting its role in improving local access to EO data and accelerating data retrieval and processing within the Philippines. The Steering Committee also approved the investigation of a potential flood-related service, in line with ongoing discussions between PhilSA, the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), and the Asian Development Bank (ADB).
Further, capacity building remains central to CopPhil’s sustainability. Through targeted training activities and initiatives such as the CopPhil Scholarship programme, the initiative continues to strengthen local expertise and support the next generation of Earth Observation professionals in the Philippines.
To read the full coverage of the 3rd CopPhil Steering Committee meeting, visit the PhilSA website at: https://philsa.gov.ph/news/copphil-steering-committee-meeting-discusses-strengthening-eo-initiatives-across-ph/
Background Information
As a flagship and unique programme of the EU’s Global Gateway strategy, CopPhil is designed to harness digital resources and space technology for sustainable development and to support innovations in research and business in close cooperation with government partners.
CopPhil is managed by the European Union Delegation to the Philippines. It is implemented by the European Space Agency (ESA) in partnership with the Philippine Space Agency (PhilSA) and the Philippine Department of Science and Technology (DOST). In addition to the development of the Earth Observation pilot services, the activities of CopPhil include the establishment of a Copernicus Data Centre and IT infrastructure as well as awareness-raising and knowledge and skills transfer related to Copernicus data and information.
