|
Reading through the archives at the UP library, I came across a
pamphlet entitled “The Oil Problem in the Philippines,” written
by the Samahan ng mga Makabayang Siyentipiko (SMS, Association of
Patriotic Scientists) during the days of the Diliman Commune in the
University of the Philippines in 1971. It was in January 1971, when
hundreds of students formed a barricade on University Avenue on the
University of the Philippines Diliman campus to protest an oil price
increase of three centavos per liter.
The pamphlet clarified important issues raging
at that time regarding the oil price increases and discussed the
nature of transfer pricing, the oil monopoly and its effect to the
people. Its findings and recommendations still rings true today: a
large part of oil prices are due to speculation and profit-taking by
large oil companies and that the development of a nationalized oil
industry is key towards achieving long term energy independence.
Various organizations of scientists and
technologists have fought not only for the advancement of science
and technology in the Philippines but also participated in popular
issues, such as the oil crisis, energy and other issues of national
significance.
During the pre-martial law days, there was the
Progresibong Samahan sa Inhenyira at Agham (PSIA, Progressive
Association in Engineering and Science) and the SMS, whose members
were mainly professionals of science and engineering inside the
university but also included members from industry. PSIA was more
student-oriented and was mainly based in the College of Engineering.
It was members of the PSIA and SMS that provided technical
assistance to the struggle during the Diliman Commune.
They were the ones who made concrete physics
problems in projectile motion by applying them to their home made
“kwitis” to fend off the police helicopters that hovered around
the campus then. Some physics and chemistry professors used their
skills and provided the chemicals to make molotov cocktails and
explosives for the students then. Science and engineering activists
and students were also vital in the operation of the Malayang Radyo
ng Diliman—the erstwhile DZUP that was taken over by the
community. Students from the Philippine Science High School were
also at the forefront of mass actions, and made their talent of
direct use to communities in the organizing and propaganda
activities during those times.
These organizations flourished for a short time
before the imposition of martial law where they conducted different
types of practical research for the budding movement. A V-type mimeograph
machine and its ink was developed by members of PSIA. Pre-med
students and doctors learned acupuncture and catalogued local plant
varieties for use in herbal medicine. SMS members were explaining
the oil issue on TV and radio while doing further practical
research.
The imposition of martial law drove most of the
members of these organizations underground where their members
continued their organizing work and research on chemistry,
electronics and ciphers. Despite this, other organizations on folk
medicine, ecology and other issues were set-up during the late
1970s, which were the means to which other scientists responded to
community health and environmental issues. The 1980’s saw the
active participation of such organizations as the Scientists,
Technologists and Engineers for the People (STEP); the youth-based
Science and Technology and Society (STS), Filipino Alternatives in
Science and Technology (FAST), based in UP Los Bańos; and Local
Initiatives in Science and Technology (LIST) based mainly in the UP-Ateneo
Diliman area.
These organizations were on the forefront of
issues ranging from the Bataan Nuclear power plant to sectoral
concerns on the state of science and technology in the Philippines.
They continued to provide technical assistance to communities and
people’s organizations much like their precursors in the previous
decade.
The issues of the day during the 1970s are
similar to today’s news banners: oil price increases, corruption,
landlessness, spiraling food prices. The lack of industrial
development that drives most scientists and engineers to seek
alternative employment, or to move out of the country, and the
objective conditions of underdevelopment are still there if not
worse than before.
It is in this context of underdevelopment that
AGHAM, or the Samahan ng Nagtataguyod ng Agham at Teknolohiya para
sa Sambayanan, was founded on July 24, 1999. Continuing the
tradition of progressive activism of the science and technology
sector, we engage in issues related to the environment, food
security and self-sufficiency, public utilities, popular science
education and in advocating national industries. We conduct direct
community service and provide technical assistance to communities,
lobbying and other forms of action. With these, AGHAM has grown to
several hundred members all over the country that are active in
making science and technology serve the Filipino people.
[Dr. Giovanni Tapang is the National
chairperson of AGHAM. prom.bound@gmail.com]
|
