Science and Technology and

Nation Building 4

Title of the lesson: Development of Science and Technology in the

Philippines
Time frame: 3 hour

INTRODUCTION

When were Science and Technology known in the Philippines? Did our ancestors have
their own technologies? When did the Filipinos start learning about science?

The science and technology history in the Philippines started way back before the
country gained its independence from its colonizers. In history, these were the three
eras of Science and Technology in the Philippines. The Pre Spanish, Spanish, and
American Era.

OBJECTIVES

After studying this module, you should be able to:

1. Identify the science and technology that the early inhabitants in the
Philippines have;
2. Identify the contributions in Science and Technology of the Spaniards in the
Philippines;
3. Discover the influence of Americans in Science and Technology in the
Philippines;
4. Analyze what happened in Science and Technology in the Philippines after
World War II.
PRE-TEST

I. Identification. Write which era the following science and technology were
first developed:

Pre-Spanish Era Spanish Era American Era

____________1. Irrigation system.

____________2. Formal learning of Science and Technology.

____________3. The term science was first used.

____________4. Use of plants as medicine.

____________5. Some Filipinos studied in Europe relating to Science and

Technology that contributed the advancement of medicine in the country.

____________6. Taking care of animals.

____________7. Establishment of schools for boys and girls.

____________8. Establishment of University of the Philippines.

____________9. Predicting weather.

____________10. Use of medicinal plants.

How was it? Compare your answers with those in Answer Key.

If all your answers were correct, GREAT! This shows that you already know certain
things about the topics. You may still study the module to achieve greater learning.

If you got a low score, don't be sad. This module is intended for you to learn more.

Are you ready? You may now turn the next page to begin Lesson 4.
DISCUSSION

Development of Science and Technology in the Philippines

The science and technology history in the Philippines started way back before the
country gained its independence from our colonizers. The early inhabitants had their
own culture, the practice of faith, and indigenous science and technology. Let me show
the list of science and technology that our ancestors had.

Science and Technology in the Pre-Spanish Era

● Scientific knowledge is practiced in the way they plant their

crops.
● They are taking care of animals to help them in their daily
tasks of food production.

● Climate interpretation
● The concept of a month is composed of days.

Technology
● building houses
● irrigations
● the instrument for planting, hunting, cooking, and fishing
● weapons as a defense for war
● the use of soil for planting purpose
● medicinal uses of plants
● Waterways transportation
● Land transportation
 Spanish Era

During the Spanish Era, Spanish colonizers pushed their culture and practices to the
early Filipino people. You can also notice some Filipino families, and even Filipino
dishes have Spanish sounding names. Can you name some of it?

Here is the list of developments of science and technology in the Philippines during
the Spanish era:

● It was during the Spanish era; it started the formal

learning in Science and Technology in the Philippines.
● There were schools for boys and girls created.
● The Spaniards introduced the idea of subjects.
● Most of the school then focuses on understanding
different concepts related to the: Human body, Plants,
Animals, and Heavenly bodies
● The Catholic Orders introduced formal colleges and
universities through Medicine and advanced science.
● Catholic Religion teachings.
 ● The trading system during the Spanish era has brought
additional technology and development in the
Philippines. Ideas, crops, tools, cultural practices, and
Technology.

● Some Filipino students who were able to study in

Europe lead to the advancement of Medicine,
Engineering, Arts, Music, and literature.

American Era

The Americans have more influence in the development of Science and Technology
in the Philippines compared to the Spaniards. Here are some of them:
 The Americans pioneered the discovery of minerals in the
country.

Transportation and communication systems were

improved.

In this era, the teaching of basic and Science Education

is about nature studies and sanitation. These lead to the
introduction of the terminology "Science."

The Americans conducted researches about how to

control malaria, cholera, and tuberculosis, and other
tropical diseases.

After World War II

World War II, in spite of the physical destruction, it created an opportunity for progress
in the field of Science and Technology in the Philippines. The newly formed
government then focused limited resources for improving Science and Technology
and used the fund from the Overseas Development Allocations (ODA), an organization
of different countries vowed to the less developed countries for scientific productivity
and technological capability. Producing more professions in Engineering, Technology,
Medicine, and others is the main goal in terms of human resources at that time.
Think About This #1

American era
What are the observable influences of Americans to Science and Technology in the
Philippines?
1. Interview your grandparents or anyone who experienced the American Era
about the changes they experienced during that time in terms of technology
and culture. Write it down in a Q&A format. (Question then answer.)

QUESTIONS ANSWERS

2. What do you think are American influences that we can still observe today?

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Think About This #2

True or False. Write if True if the statement is correct and False if the statement is
wrong.

______________1. The meaning of ODA is Overseas Development Allocation.

______________2. The Philippines has its own money that was used to improve
Science and Technology in the Philippines.
______________3. ODA is an organization that is composed of different countries.
______________4. The main goal of ODA is to help countries for development in the
field of Science and Technology.
______________5. Producing more professionals in Engineering, Technology,
Medicine, and others is the main goal in terms of the human resource after World War

The Filipino Scientists

Fe Del Mundo, M.D., M.A. (1911-2011)

Since primary school days, we are taught about famous scientists like Marie Curie,
Thomas Edison, Albert Einstein, among others. And yet, Filipino scientists were not
being highlighted or discussed in most science subjects. Today we will learn who these
Filipino scientists are and learn about their contributions or inventions in the field of
Science and Technology.
 Did you know that Dr.
Jose Rizal was a great
scientist himself? He was
a lover of nature, and
Rizal discovered these
Animalia, including the
following: Draco rizali
(the flying lizard),
Rachophorus rizali (a
toad), and Apogonia rizali
(a beetle with five
antennae) and built the
waterway system of the
town in Dapitan during his
exile.

DISCUSSION

Below is a list of Filipino Scientist and their contributions.

Clare R. Balthazar

Clare R. Baltazar is known for her works on insects. She

made an impact on how to control insect pests. Some of
Baltazar's scientific contributions include eight species and one
subgenus of the insect Hymenoptera as well as new
discoveries with Philippine parasitic wasps that have
108 named as new species.
Filomena Campos

Born on March 30, 1930, Dr. Filomena Campos was

well-known for her contribution to the Philippine
cotton research. Her research has led to the
enhancement of a set of proficiency in cotton
fabrication. All of these she achieved in just three
years. She is also involved in the research on
Sunflowers as a possible source of edible oil and
livestock feed.

Luz Oliveros-Belardo

Filipino chemist and researcher Luz Oliveros-Belardo

examined Philippine flora where essential oils can be
collected from. The uses such oils are for flavoring,
fragrance, medicine, and energy sources. She was
able to collect 33 new essences from Philippine
essential oils, including the study of its chemistry.

Eduardo A. Quisimbing

Eduardo A. Quisumbing specializes in plants and is

one of the first researchers to study Philippine
medicinal plants and orchids. He wrote the book
Medicinal Plants of the Philippines, which is
considered as one of the first books in this area of
specialty. He has also written 129 scientific articles
in this field. He studied the characteristics of grains
and proteins, and how these affect the quality of
rice. He showed that the amount of a substance
called amylose determines the quality of rice grains
in Asia. The less of this the substance that rice has,
the less sticky it will be.
 Melecio S. Magno

As a physicist, Melecio S. Magno has conducted studies in

the Fluorescence Spectroscopy of rare-earth crystals, as
well as the effects of typhoons on the Earth’s atmospheric
ozone and Sky Luminosity.

Emil Q. Javier

Emil Q. Javier is known for his practical solutions to

agricultural problems because he knows that many farmers
have very limited resources.

Alfredo C. Santos

Alfredo C. Santos researched the chemical

composition of the medicinal properties of Philippine
plants. His vision for poor Filipinos who cannot
afford expensive drugs inspired him to conduct
studies on local materials for drug development.

Gregorio T. Velasquez

Gregorio T. Velasquez is a phycologist where he

specializes in algae. He devoted 30 years of his life
studying algae called Myxophyceae. Velasquez was able
to produce 47 basic and 77 valuable scientific papers on
the subject.
Gregorio Y. Zara

Noted for his contributions in engineering, Gregorio Y.

Zara has invented the video phone, the alcohol-fueled
airplane, a solar energy absorber, an aircraft a propeller
that is made up entirely of wood, the wooden
microscope, and a semi-automatic propeller-making
Machine.

Ramon Barba

Famous Genius Ramon Barba specializes in mango

propagation, where he developed a method that will allow
mangoes to produce harvests three times in a year. This
has greatly benefited the mango production industry of the
Philippines.

DOST: Balik Scientist Program

The DOST, thru the DOST-Councils (PCAARRD, PCHRD, and PCIEERD), continues
to encourage Filipino Scientists or Scientists of Filipino descent to go back to the
country to share their specialization to revive the scientific and technical resources of
the field. As of 30 June 2019, we already have 526 Balik Scientists in the country.
These 526 Balik Scientists were able to participate in 659 engagements servicing the
requirements of the academe, public/government agencies, and the industry. For the
period 2007-2019, 238 Balik Scientists from 5 continents were convinced to return to
the Philippines to deliver 352 engagements benefiting 115 Host Institutions
nationwide.

THINK ABOUT THIS #3

A. Write the name of the inventor for the given invention. You may choose from the
given list of names below:

Clare R. Baltazar Melecio S. Magno Dr.Jose Rizal

Ramon Barba Filomena Campos Emil Q. Javier

Gregorio Y. Zara Luz Oliveros-Belardo Alfredo C. Santos

Eduardo A. Quisumbing

1. He developed a method that caused the flowering

and fruiting of mango trees three times a year,
instead of once a year, so dramatically improving
yields.

2. He is the first Filipino researcher to study Philippine

medicinal plants and orchids. He published the
book, Medicinal Plants of the Philippines, which is
considered one of the first books on this area.

3. As a physicist, he made studies on fluorescence

spectroscopy, effects of typhoons on atmospheric
ozone, sky luminosity, atmospheric radiation, and
gravitation.

4. The author of the book titled Philippine Insects and

her works on insects were very useful for research
on insect control.
 5. Worked on Philippine cotton, plus her studies helped
develop technology for cotton production.

6. He is a chemist and researcher who studied

essential oils that can be collected from Philippine
plants.

7. Discovered many animals here in our country, which

includes Draco rizali, Rachophorus rizali, and
Apogonia rizali.

8. Researched on the chemical composition of the

medicinal properties of plants in the Philippine plants
and also work on herbs local plants.

9. Noted for his contributions in engineering with his

inventions include the video phone, the alcohol-
fueled airplane, a solar energy absorber.

10. is known for his practical usage of methods by

using cheap materials in agriculture.

SUMMARY

In this lesson, we talked about the various forms of science and technology during the
different eras in the Philippines, the Pre-Spanish, Spanish, and American Era, as well
as the contributions the Spanish and Americans had in the development of Science
and Technology in the Philippines.

We also tackled the discoveries and inventions that Filipino scientists have contributed
to the scientific community, as well as the initiative of the Department of Science and
Technology or DOST, the Balik Scientist Program, that encourages Filipino scientists
living abroad to come back home and share their studies with the home country.

REFLECTION

Our Filipino scientists have made great strides to push the boundaries of science and
technology here in the Philippines. Which of their inventions, discoveries, and
contributions have a direct impact on your life? Explain.

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SUGGESTED READINGS AND WEBSITES

 Government Documents: 1. NEDA. National Development Agenda; Regional

Agenda
 Filipino Great Men and Women
 Great Filipino Inventions

GLOSSARY

Fluorescence a systematic method which is based on the fluorescence properties of

Spectroscopy the sample (e.g., rare earth crystals)

Hymenoptera these are an order of highly specialized insects that undergo complete
metamorphosis; these include bees, wasps, ants, ichneumon flies,
sawflies, gall wasps, and related forms.

Myxophyceae this is a class of algae now designated as the cyanobacteria

Propagation a method usually used in agriculture to increase the specimen (i.e.,

mangoes, rice, cotton) in numbers.

ANSWER KEY

THINK ABOUT THIS #2

1. TRUE
2. FALSE
3. TRUE
4. TRUE
 5. TRUE

THINK ABOUT THIS #3

1. Ramon Barba
2. Eduardo Quisumbing
3. Melencio Magno
4. Claire Baltazar
5. Filomena Campos
6. Luz Oliveros-Belardo
7. Dr.Jose Rizal
8. Alfredo Santos
9. Gregorio Y. Zara
10. Emil Q. Javier

REFERENCES

DOST Hybrid Trimaran - 1st IN THE WORLD. (2020, March 9). [Video]. YouTube.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UhjIzDAHx6c

Ramon Barba. (2018, March 4). Biography, Facts and Pictures.

https://www.famousscientists.org/ramon-barba/

Serafica, Pawilen, Casilib, & Alata. (2018). Science, Technology, and Society. Rex Book

Store, Inc.

TOP 10 PINOY INNOVATION FEATURED IN DOST NSTW 2019. (2019, July 22). [Video].

YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ji52KmIcJPM