COL007

Science Technology and Society

The Philippine Government and the Science and Technology Agenda

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Module on
The Philippine Government
and the Science and Technology
Agenda

Any industrialization cannot happen without science and technology, and the support of scientists and
engineers. We are good in training many technologists and scientists, providing scholarships and other
educational tools and have a good crop of graduates in the medical professions, engineers, scientists and
agriculturists, but are not able to harness the potential and build the needed knowledge capital.

At the end of this module, you should be able to:

1. analyze the importance of indigenous knowledge about science and technology;
2. identify important agencies and terms associated with the science and technology agenda; and
3. examine the government’s programs and actions in improving science education in the Philippines.

Reading Activity: Carefully examine the images and paragraphs from the YouTube video entitled DOST:
Research and development collaboration with PH schools pushed by One News PH.

DOST (Department of Science and Technology) Secretary Fortunato Dela Pena’s interview with One
News Ph was posted on Nov 18, 2019. He said that researchers in the university have their own agenda, to
publish, points for promotion and for patent. While in industries, they want to solve problems and come up
with innovation in terms of products and technology. So he motivated these two groups to collaborate. He told
the industries that if they want to research, find a partner university. And, if that problem or research is part of
the DOST priorities, they are willing to subsidize.
Priorities for research include Agricultural based processing. Mobile application has been made for
agricultural related monitoring. On the Industrial side, there are also electronic semiconductor companies that
joined research. TIP (Technological Institute of the Philippines) is also working with Pascual Pharma using AI
(Artificial Intelligence) to detect bioactivity in plants multiple sensor implementation. Healthy ice cream is
being processed in Zamboanga. The Food and Nutrition Research Institute is conducting a study on non-sugar
ice cream.

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Science Technology and Society
The Philippine Government and the Science and Technology Agenda

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QI1BITrR_gM

Presented are the activities done by the DOST in line with the implementation of the country’s agenda
for Science and Technology. More of these will be discussed in this module.

Indigenous Science and Technology in the Philippines

The indigenous peoples in the Philippines continued to live in their relatively isolated, self-sufficient
communities, at the time when most lowland communities had already been integrated into a single colony
under Spain in the 1700s and 1800s. They were able to preserve the culture and traditions of their “ethnos” or
“tribe” as reflected in their communal views on land, their cooperative work exchanges, their communal
rituals, their songs, dances, and folklore. Instead of hierarchical governments, each of these communities had
its own council of elders who customarily settled clan or tribal wars to restore peace and unity.
Indigenous Knowledge System are embedded in the cultural traditions of regional indigenous or local
communities which are orally passed in stories, poems and songs. Examples of Indigenous knowledge that are
taught and practiced by indigenous people are:
1.Prediction of weather
2.Using herbal medicine
3.Preserving foods
4.Classifying plants and animals into families
5.Selecting good seeds for planting
6.Using indigenous technology (pottery, weaving and fine metalcraft)
7.Building local irrigation
8.Classifying different types of soil for planting
9.Producing wines from tropical fruits
10. Keeping the custom of growing plants and vegetables

Traditional farming practices in Sarangani Province, the

Philippines. A, Blaan and T’boli botne (makeshift wooden
altar); B, Blaan amlah or planting ceremony; C, Blaan
women during harvest ( tuke fali ); D, Blaan fol (storage
A B C
hut); E, Rice panicles stored in farmers ’ houses; F, Seeds
are stored in baskets made from wood bark stuffed with dried
grasses.

D E F

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According to Johnston (2000), Indigenous beliefs also developed desirable values, namely:
1. Motivating attitudes
2. Cooperating attitudes
3. Practical attitudes
4. Reflective attitudes
Indigenous Science uses science process skills guided by community culture and values composed of
traditional knowledge. Indigenous Science is important in that it helped the people in understanding the natural
environment and in coping with everyday life.

Science and Technology for Industry

Many of our scientists are lured abroad in spite of the restrictions in their scholarship grants, or sell
their patents to foreign corporations. Until such a time that they can find sustainable and rewarding avenues to
hone their science skills and build new knowledge in the Philippines, we still have much work to do. This is
why many of them are OFWs (Overseas Filipino Workers) who supported the Duterte candidacy and seek
genuine change.
A. Innovation Culture
What recent success we have had with the saltwater lamp, the salamander tricycle and the
Diwata 1 microsatellite is a good start but only indicates that there is a long way to go before creating an
innovation culture. Innovation can only happen with enough scientists and technologists per capita to
develop an “innovation ecosystem.”
B. ASEAN Integration Requires Competitive Technology
Science and technology helps us understand nature and the world, and enables us to lead full
lives through new and innovative means. It therefore requires that we as Filipinos, expand our science
and technology base to enable us to compete in an integrated ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian
Nation).

Two major approaches:

1. Stronger Research and Development in the regions, not just Manila - expand research and
development initiatives by providing more grant support for R and D through the DOST’s sectoral
planning councils such as PCIERD (Philippine Council for Industry, Energy and Emerging
Technology Research and Development), PCAARD (Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic
and Natural Resources Research and Development) and ASTI (Advance Science and Technology
Institute) in cooperation with universities in the regions. The science initiative must be distributed to
the regions especially those where food production needs to be improved, industry needs to grow
and where innovation needs to be developed. This is critical in light of climate change and expensive
electricity and the need to disperse industry and economic activities.

2. Strategic projects in five areas:

 Renewable energy - We need new technologies to enable high electricity yields in limited space
with less dependence on natural resources to enable us to meet our COP 21 commitments, while
lowering the price of electricity.
 S and T for industry development - We need stronger participation of our scientists and
engineers if we want to revitalize our basic industries such as the steel industry.
 Faster and cheaper internet - We have Asia’s slowest internet, yet our archipelago needs it to
bridge gaps and build networks.
 Increased food production - Given limited lands, technology is needed to expand yields while
increasing quality of output and being less dependent on foreign inputs like fertilizers
 Climate change adaptation - We need cutting edge technology to enable our farmers to adapt
to changing climates and the need to do away with technologies that destroy the capacity for
good healthful yields.

C. Enabling mechanisms and specifics

1. More Research grants through the DOST (Department of Science and Technology) and its sectoral
planning councils and institutes.
2. Strengthen the Balik Scientist Program and retention program for current young scientists- our
young scientists must be engaged through actual research projects. Many of our scientists and

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engineers are OFWs who support our candidacy. We need their help to uplift our country’s
technology and we hope they come back.
3. S and T cooperation within ASEAN- especially on the space program and climate change
adaptation.
4. Cooperation between industry and the science community by involving them in the sectoral planning
councils. DOST’s programs for SMEs (such as SET-UP) needs to be replicated further.

Major Development Programs and Personalities in Science and Technology in the Philippines
In general, the country’s performance in achieving the desired outcomes for the STI sector has been
moderate. Latest available data indicate that four out of nine targets with available data have been exceeded.
 As part of developing a vibrant Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) culture in the country, the government
is strengthening the implementation of a Patent Incentive Package, providing funding support on
intellectual property protection, and conducting various awareness campaigns on the importance of IPR.
In 2017, the country reached the top 33 percent percentile rank in the World Intellectual Property
Organization– Knowledge and Technology Outputs Index, beating the top 34 percent target. In terms of
industrial designs, there were 909 registrations, surpassing the target of 542.
 One of the main goals of the Philippine Development Plan (PDP) 2017-2022 is to support the
development of the sectors that used to lag behind – especially farmers, fisherfolks, and micro, small,
and medium enterprises (MSMEs). For the STI sector, the government targeted to provide start-ups and
MSMEs with platforms for technology commercialization such as the establishment of new technology
business incubators (TBIs). This pushed the number of TBI graduates to 56 in 2017, as compared to the
41 graduates recorded in 2016.
 To foster a culture of inventiveness and creativity, the government has been promoting STI and the
creative arts to young students. In Academic Year 2016-2017, the number of Science, Technology,
Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) enrollees in higher education institutions (HEIs) reached 1.27
million, higher than the target of one million enrollees for 2017.
 Moreover, the country has established a total of 30 innovation hubs as of end-2017. Although this
slightly fell short of the target of 33, the 43 targeted innovation hubs for 2018 is still achievable as the
government seeks to strengthen STI infrastructure development.
 Open collaboration among actors in the STI ecosystem is also being strengthened to some extent. In
2017, the government engaged 33 new Balik Scientists, only a tad lower than the target of 39. The
country is still on track for its target of top 50 percent in the University – Industry Collaboration
percentile rank (in the World Economic Forum Competitiveness Report), despite dropping from 52.5
percent in 2016 to 51 percent 2017.

Science Education in the Philippines

One of the most notable milestones in the Philippine education is that the government actively seeks to
expand access and participation in higher education and, even more importantly, tries to improve the quality of
education.
According to the Philippine National Development Plan, “the number of higher education institutions
in the Philippines is ten times more than its neighboring countries. The Philippines’s lackluster performance in
producing innovators, researchers (81 researchers per million population versus 205 in Indonesia and 115 in
Vietnam) and knowledge producers (28 out of 777 journals, or 3.6 percent are listed under Thomson Reuters,
Scopus or both) indicates that the country has lagged behind many of its ASEAN neighbors in producing
researchers, innovators and solutions providers needed to effectively function in a knowledge economy.”
Enrolment rates for college students are expected to expand even more, with the bold decision of
President Duterte in 2017 to make education at state universities and colleges tuition-free, yet this does not
automatically mean that such changes can result in producing a new generation of researchers and innovators.
On the other side, the previous administration’s K-12 reforms have inevitably led to decreased rate of college
enrollees, too, at least in the short-term, since many of the students that would usually have entered higher
education after Grade 10 now have to complete two additional years of school.
In 2013 the Philippine government initiated the extension of the country’s basic education cycle from
ten to twelve years—a major reform that former Education Secretary Armin Luistro has called “the most
comprehensive basic-education reform initiative ever done in the country since the establishment of the public
education system more than a century ago”. Between 2015-2016 and 2016-2017, the total number of tertiary

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students already dropped from 4.1 million to 3.6 million — a decrease that is particularly apparent when
looking at undergraduate enrollment rate, according to data from the Commission on Higher Education.
Despite some predicaments, qualitative improvements and achievements in the Philippine education
system are still notable in a number of areas. This includes a slight increase in the number of higher-education
faculty holding higher degrees. The percentage of instructors with master’s and doctorate degrees grew from
38.87 percent and 11.09 percent in 2010, respectively, to 40.34 and 12.62 percent in 2015.
The number of higher-education institutes with accredited education programs, which is not mandatory
in the Philippines, increased by more than 40 percent between 2010 and 2017, while the passing rates of
candidates sitting for professional licensing exams, a measure of academic effectiveness,  jumped from 33.9 to
58.6 percent between 2010 and 2015.
Despite the shortage of innovators, researchers and knowledge producers in the country, it is great to
note that Filipinos are generally prioritizing higher and advanced education. In fact, there has been a wide
interest in international education among Filipinos, as well as non-traditional educational courses outside of the
typical college courses.
According to the Australian embassy in Manila, Australia continues to be one of the top preferred
learning destinations of Filipinos, with more than 10,000 students going to the “Land Down Under” for their
education every year. The Education Centre of Australia (ECA) is one of the top institutions in the country that
has helped Filipinos to achieve their aspirations in international education.
Locally, private colleges-institutions and premium universities continuously hone Filipino college
students to be at par with international educational standards.

Science Schools
The Manila Science High School (MaSci) was established in 1963. It was the first science high school
in the country. It was patterned after the Bronx Science High School of New York. 1963 was when the first
batch that entered the pilot science high school graduated. It started in 1959 with 36 students.
In 1964, the Philippine Science High School (PSHS) was established. It was under the Department of
Science and Technology (DOST). The premier science high school in the country, it is considered among the
top science high schools in ASEAN. Aside from its main campus in Diliman, Quezon City, it has 12 other
regional campuses in the Philippines.
Aside from the PSHS and the MaSci, other science high schools were established to further spread the
education of those inclined in the sciences. The Department of Education (DepEd) through the Local
Government Units (LGUs) fund and administer these science high schools. These are categorized accordingly:
1. Regional
2. Provincial
3. City
The school system is supervised by the Department of Science and Technology (DOST), and offers a
curriculum with a focus on the sciences and mathematics to deserving Filipino children from any background.
They are expected to take up a science and mathematics course in college and, hopefully, chart a career in
science.

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Science Technology and Society
The Philippine Government and the Science and Technology Agenda

ACTIVITY

Name: _________________________________ Course & Section: __________________

A. Direction: Select five (5) Indigenous knowledge that are still practiced today. Provide a description of how
is it useful at the present time.

1.
Description:

2.
Description:

3.
Description:

4.
Description:

5.
Description:

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B. Direction: Write the meaning of the following acronyms.

1. ASEAN -

2. DOST -

3. PCIERD -

4. PCAARD -

5. OFW -

6. ASTI -

7. SME -

8. PDP -

9. TBI -

10. MSME -

11. HEI -

12. ECA -

13. PSHS -

14. MaSci -

15. DepEd -

C. Answer the following questions.

1. What are the efforts made by the government in improving science education?

_____________________________________________________________________________________
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__________

2. What other program/s will students benefit from in terms of science and technology? Propose and
describe the program.

_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
__

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Name: _________________________________ Course & Section: __________________

Direction: Answer the following questions.

1. How is indigenous science important in the current practice of science and technology?
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__

2. What is the government's focus for its Science and Technology Agenda?

_____________________________________________________________________________________
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__________
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3. What is the importance of establishing Science schools?

_____________________________________________________________________________________
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Science Technology and Society
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Name: _________________________________ Course & Section: __________________

Direction: Look for an article (online, magazine or newspaper) about the latest progress/ update regarding the
Philippine’s Science and Technology agenda. Paste the article inside the box below.

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Science Technology and Society
The Philippine Government and the Science and Technology Agenda

Module on
The Philippine Government and
the Science and Technology
Agenda

Instruction: Encircle the letter of the correct answer.

Name:_____________________________________ Course & Section: __________________ Date:
__________________
1. What helps us understand nature and the world, and enables us to lead full lives through new and innovative
means?
A. Science and technology
B. Industrialization
C. Architecture
D. D. Mathematics

2. The following are areas of Strategic Projects, EXCEPT:

A. Renewable energy
B. S and T for industry development
C. Faster and cheaper internet
D. Fixing climate change

3. What are embedded in the cultural traditions of regional indigenous or local communities which are orally
passed in stories, poems and songs?
A. Innovation ecosystem
B. Indigenous Knowledge System
C. Climate change adaptation
D. Culture maintenance

4. Who supervises the school system of science schools that offers curriculum with focus on the sciences and
mathematics to deserving Filipino children from any background?
A. STEM
B. ASEAN
C. LGU
D. DOST

5. What uses science process skills guided by community culture and values composed of traditional
knowledge?
A. Indigenous science
B. Science Innovation
C. Innovative Culture
D. Research

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6. What year did the government engage 33 new Balik Scientists which is only a tad lower than the target of
39?
A. 2017
B. 2018
C. 2016
D. 2015

7. The following are sectors that the PDP plan to support as part of their main goal, EXCEPT:
A. Biotechnology
B. Fisherfolks
C. Small and medium enterprises
D. Farmers

8. Who called the twelve-year basic education cycle as “the most comprehensive basic-education reform
initiative ever done in the country since the establishment of the public education system more than a century
ago”?
A. President Rodrigo Duterte
B. Secretary Armin Luistro
C. Secretary Leonor Briones
D. President Ninoy Aquino

9. What is one of the top institutions in the country that has helped Filipinos achieve their aspirations in
international education?
A. Education Centre of Australia (ECA)
B. Intellectual Property Rights (IPR)
C. Technology business incubators (TBIs)
D. Philippine Development Plan(PDP)

10. What continues to be one of the top preferred learning destinations of Filipinos?
A. Australia
B. America
C. Japan
D. Korea

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