Philippine Science and Technology History

Students will recall the history of Philippine Science and Technology (S&T).
Students will discuss how Philippine S&T developments affect society and the environment.
Students will relate Filipino philosophical viewpoints to S&T development.
Students will relate S&T roles in nation-building.

Filipinos developed skills in farming, shipbuilding, mining minerals, and weaving.
Herbal medicines were used.
Architectural designs, like Banaue rice terraces, were developed.

Formal education and scientific organizations were established.
Schools mandated to teach religion, mathematics, reading, writing, music, and the arts.
Health and sanitation were taught to locals.
Medicine and biology were focused on.
Engineering focused on construction of buildings, churches, bridges, roads, and forts.
Religion was taught.
University of Santo Tomas was mentioned

Laboratorio Municipal was replaced by the Bureau of Government Laboratories.
This bureau was established to study tropical diseases and other related research projects.
In 1905, the Bureau was changed to the Bureau of Science, becoming the main research center in the Philippines.
In 1933, the National Research Council of the Philippines was established, focusing on agriculture, medicine, pharmacy, food processing, and forestry.
In 1946 replaced the Bureau of Science with the Institute of Science.

President Ferdinand Marcos mandated Department of Education to promote science courses in public high schools.
Budget for research projects and science education.
Funding for private universities' S&T courses.
Promotion of research.
35-hectare lot in Bicutan, Taguig, Rizal was designated as the Philippine Science Community.
Seminars, workshops, training, and scholarships in fisheries and oceanography were government-sponsored.

The Philippine Coconut Research Institute, Philippine Textile Research Institute, Philippine Atomic Energy Commission, National Grains Authority, Philippine Council for Agricultural Research, PAGASA, Philippine National Oil Company, Plant Breeding Institute, International Rice Research Institute, Bureau of Plant Industry, Bureau of Forest Products, National Committee on Geological Sciences, National Science Development Board, and National Science and Technology Authority were mentioned.
Mindanao and Visayas campuses of the Philippine Science High School were built.

President Corazon Aquino replaced the National Science and Technology Authority with the Department of Science and Technology (DOST).
The Science and Technology to have a part in the sustainable economic recovery and growth of the country.
Created the S&T Master Plan to update the production sector, enhance research, and develop infrastructure for science and technology.
The R&D Plan prioritized areas for research based on Filipino materials and likelihood of success and commercialization.

The Philippines had approximately 3,000 competent scientists and engineers by 1998.
The "Doctors to the Barrio Program" improved life expectancy from 67.5 to 69.1 years between 1992 and 1995.
Incentives for significant contributions to S&T were introduced.
New legislations (Acts) were passed: Republic Act (RA) No. 8439, RA No. 7687, RA No. 7459, and RA No. 8293.

President Joseph E. Estrada implemented cost-effective irrigation technologies.
Distributed basic healthcare, nutrition, and education.
Laid down a 15-year modernization program for the Armed Forces.
RA No. 8749 (Philippine Clean Air Act of 1999) and RA No. 8792 (Electronic Commerce Act of 2000) were signed.

Science, Technology, and Innovations (STI) was developed to improve the education system and help the poor.
"Filipinnovation" was coined to make the Philippines an innovation hub.
RA No. 9367 (Biofuels Act) aimed to utilize indigenous materials for cleaner energy.
Drought-free rice was developed.
RA No. 10601 (Agriculture and Fisheries Sector through Mechanization) modernized agricultural and fisheries machinery.

President Benigno Aquino awarded new National Scientists: Gavino C. Trono, Angel C. Alcala, Ramon C. Barba, and Edgardo D. Gomez.
Trono studied seaweed species.
Alcala pioneered research on coral reefs.
Barba studied seasonal mango supply.
Gomez assessed damaged coral reefs and their conservation.

Resource depletion and environmental pollution.
Increased waste due to manufactured technology.
Population increase and issues with balancing resources.
Control on birth rate and mortality rates are different for developed vs developing countries.

S&T addresses public good, benefits both individuals and society.
Consideration of individual interests for unity and subsidiarity.
Government must exercise utilitarian perspective: services like education, public health, transportation, infrastructure, and defense benefit the whole population.

Public good must balance ideal logic with practical logic (ethical).
Individuals need to survive and focus on needs and wants, but also on others' in order to thrive..
Government plays a role in ensuring public good
Private groups and organizations or civil societies can contribute too.

Filipinos need scientific literacy for technology and industrialization.
Filipinos face difficulty attaining scientific literacy, due to lack of science culture, deficient curriculum, poor teaching practices, lack of resources (materials, training, textbooks, and labs).
K to 12 may help bridge the gap.
Government prioritizes education in their budget.
Issues and concerns about S&T focus on lack of funding, lack of trained personnel, deficient policies, and regulation.
Lack of project focus due to differences in funding institutions' interests.
A mechanism for possible collaborations with industries needed.
Government and the private sector need to continuously promote the public good together.

The assignment requires a reading report on the concept of the public good from a Filipino philosopher.
Students need to elaborate on things learned, unclear points, previously held beliefs, and questions desired as part of their reading response.