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By Nora O. Gamolo, Senior Desk Editor
IN the 1950s and 60s the Philippines was an
industrializing country whose development and economic status, in
Asia, was second only to Japan.
The country’s scientists, technologists,
engineers, technicians and artisans were already producing
materials, machinery and equipment suited for the country’s needs.
Even before WWII, pediatrician Fe del Mundo had devised her own
incubator for use in provincial and village clinics in lieu of
imported incubators from the United States. Importing took long, but
saving children’s lives couldn’t wait.
During the war, alternative fuels made from
coconut and sugarcane and developed by Filipino scientists were used
to run vehicles during the oil-tight years under Japanese
occupation.
The country was ready to mass-produce cars (with
engine blocks coming from the USA or Japan), televisions and radios
in the 50s and just about ready to explore new scientific domains.
Filipino artisans redesigned the US military jeep and devised the
jeepney, still our primary form of conveyance and now exported
abroad. Food processing was already mature and the food canning
industry was about to develop (hampered only by lack of pressed
tin).
Yet, without looking at these historical facts,
credible studies of recent times say that “the Philippines has yet
to achieve a high level of technological readiness and innovative
capacity that typifies well-developed economies and those entering
the developed phase like India,” as noted in the country’s
Medium-Term Development Plan for 2004-2010. (India with a
full-fledged steel industry has been making motorcycles, trains,
cars, trucks and airplanes for 50 years now.)
The 2006-2007 Global Competitiveness Report
places the Philippines in the 71st spot out of 125 countries in
terms of technological readiness or ability to adopt technologies
from home or abroad to enhance the productivity of its industries.
In contrast, the country’s Asian
neighbors had higher places than us: Singapore placed second; Hong
Kong, 13th; Korea, 18th; Japan, 19th; Malaysia, 28th; and Thailand,
48th.
In the area of innovation or the ability to
produce brand-new technologies, the country ranks a dismal 79th.
Compared with emerging innovation powerhouses in Asean like
Singapore (ninth), Malaysia (21st), Indonesia (37th) and Thailand
(33rd), the Philippines clearly has a lot of catching up to do.
Why has the country sunk from second most
industrialized, scientifically and technologically developed country
to near the bottom in Asia in just 37 years?
The first reason is the lack of significant
logistical support from government and other institutions. The
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
(UNESCO) has reported that to spur innovation, developing countries
allocated one percent of their gross domestic product (GDP) for
research and development (R&D).
The country has missed out on opportunities
offered by R&D, however. According to a 2003 government data,
the Philippines has only spent 0.14 percent of its GDP for R&D.
Of the total amount spent for it, only 30 percent came from the
government sector, with the bigger 70 percent coming from private
sector initiative.
The UNESCO also reported that the average for
developing countries is 380 R&D personnel for every one million
population. Then again, according to the 2003 data, there were only
164 R&D personnel for every million Filipinos—including
scientists, engineers, technicians and auxiliary personnel.
The decline in the country’s ranking was
progressive. The Philippines was ranked third out of 49 nations in
producing knowledge jobs in 2001, up from eight in 2000, according
to the United States -based META Group’s Global Technology Index (GTI).
The GTI is the successor of the Global New E-Economy Index (GNEI), a
cyber atlas that represents an important measure of the economic
dynamism and strength, as well as the technological capabilities and
potential of each country.
However, the 2001 GTI ranking (when the
Philippines was third) is still lower than the country’s first
place ranking in the knowledge jobs category in 1999, which included
ranking criteria on senior management, availability of IT skills,
and qualified engineers.
Based on the 2001 GTI, the country declined from
35th to 39th in the transformation of the country’s digital
economy in 2001, attributed mainly to the decline of the number of
computers per capita, weak deployment of cellular access and small
population of Internet users.
Meanwhile, the significant drop, from 38th place
to 45th, in the technological innovation capacity category was due
to the decrease in the number of patents issued. The total R&D
expenditure also decreased, adding to the overall decline in this
category. While the decline in the globalization category accounts
for the decreased export of commercial services and direct
investment flows abroad.
More logistics at last
The sector has endured many wounds, including
the exodus of its best and brightest scientific minds after the
1960s to other countries. Today, , the government is looking at
giving more logistical support to boost this most vital component of
development. The only question is: Is logistical support all that is
necessary to boost this vital sector?
From a shoestring budget of P920 million in 1990
to a staggering P5.29 billion in 2008, the Department of Science and
Technology (DOST) has, to a certain extent, succeeded in reversing
neglect and given the sector a fair level of attention.
Executive Order 128 mandates the DOST “to
provide central direction, leadership and coordination of scientific
and technological efforts, and ensure that the results therefrom are
geared and utilized in areas of maximum economic and social benefits
for the people.”
The DOST’s 2007 budget was P3.6 billion, and
this was increased for 2008 by 47 percent.
In 1991, 1995, 1999 and 2002, DOST endured
budgetary cuts. In 2007, it had zero increase from its 2006 budget.
The DOST budget provides for increased budget
for its four major thrusts: diffusion of knowledge and technologies,
generation of new knowledge and technologies, development of human
resources for the scientific and technological (S&T) sector, and
provision of quality S&T services.
Seven R&D institutes
From its total budget, DOST hopes to support
seven R&D institutes, six service institutes, five sectoral
planning councils and two collegial bodies. The Philippine
Atmospheric and Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration
(Pagasa), Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs)
and the Philippine Science High School System are but three of the
six DOST service institutes.
According to the DOST, diffusion of knowledge
and technologies is one of its four major thrusts. There is the
Small Enterprise Upgrading Program (SETUP) that helps enhance the
competitiveness of micro, small and medium enterprises through
technological interventions. The Techno Gabay Program, on the other
hand, includes the Farmer’s Information Technology Service (FITS)
Center targeting over 70,000 clients in 2008.
Lastly, the Technology Commercialization Program
contains Technology Innovation for Commercialization (TECHNICOM),
establishment of technology business incubation and support to
inventors.
For generating new knowledge and technologies,
the science department hopes to strengthen R&D in the areas of
biotechnology, information and communications technology (ICT),
environment, alternative energy, health/medicinal products, and
other projects.
The conduct of contract researches with the
private sector addresses specific needs in technological upgrading,
product enhancement and an overall increase in productivity. In
2008, the department hopes to achieve 175 projects in the areas of
food processing, nutritional products, information and
communication technology, environment, wood processing, nuclear
services and metalwork.
Developing human resources is another thrust of
the department. It aims to accelerate the production of high-level
S&T human resources, especially in R&D. It has programs for
MS and PhD scholarships, undergraduate and secondary scholarships.
It also has the accelerated human resource development program that
has awarded 213 masteral and 16 doctoral scholarships in science and
engineering. The program has an allocation of P175 million in 2008.
The DOST also promises to provide quality
S&T services on testing and calibration, disaster preparedness
and mitigation, and information.
DOST has drafted the National Science and
Technology Plan for 2002-2020 (NSTP 2020) as a long-term indicative
plan that sets the direction of S&T development in the country
until 2020. It also sets the expectations of the S&T community
over the government’s promise to make S&T the foundation of
future economic development in the country.
The NSTP 2020 supports the visions and goals
stated in the Medium-Term Philippine Development Plan (MTPDP):
macroeconomic stability with equitable growth based on free
enterprise, agriculture and fisheries modernization with social
equity, comprehensive human development, and good governance.
Another dimension
To all these propositions, activist scientists
want to add another dimension: nationalist industrialization that
can only be brought about by reversing the backwardness of the
agrarian economy (agriculture accounts for about seventy percent of
all economic output) and pushing for the development of the
country’s basic industries to generate more entrepreneurial
pursuits and jobs.
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