Science and Technology in the Philippines

Science and Technology in the Philippines

• The Department of Science and Technology (DOST) manages science and technology in the Philippines.
• Sectorial councils exist for various fields: Forestry, Agriculture, Aquaculture, Metal Industry, Nuclear Research, Food and Nutrition, Health, Meteorology, Volcanology, and Seismology.

Stone Age (40,000 - 30,000 BC)

• Filipinos made simple tools and weapons from stone flakes.
• They later developed sawing and polishing techniques for stones.
• Adzes, seashell ornaments, and pottery were produced.
• Pottery flourished for 2,000 years until Chinese porcelain was imported.

Iron Age (3rd Century BC to 11th Century AD)

• Filipinos extracted, smelted, and refined iron from ores.
• This continued until cast iron was imported from Sarawak and China.
• They learned to weave cotton and create glass ornaments.
• Lowland rice cultivation and terraced fields utilizing spring water in mountain regions were developed.

10th Century AD

• Filipinos traded with Vietnam and China.
• Exports: beeswax, cotton, pearls, coconut heart mats, tortoise shells, medicinal betel nuts, and panie cloth.
• Imports: porcelain, lead fishnet sinkers, colored glass beads, iron pots, iron needles, and tin.

Pre-Spanish Colonization

• Filipinos engaged in activities related to science, forming primitive technology.
• Knowledge of curative plant values and herbal medicine extraction existed.
• An alphabet system, writing, counting methods, and weights and measures were present.
• They lacked a calendar but counted years by lunar cycles and harvests.

Spanish Regime (16th Century)

• Schools were developed, including Colegio de San Ildefonso (Cebu), Colegio de San Ignacio (Manila), Colegio de Nuestra Senora del Rosario (Manila), and Colegio de San Jose (Manila).
• San Juan Lazaro Hospital, the oldest in the Far East, was established.

17th and 18th Centuries

• Shipwrecks and pirate attacks on galleons led to economic depression in Manila during the late 17th century.
• The society promoted cultivating indigo, cotton, cinnamon, and the silk industry.
• Manila opened to Asian shipping, increasing exports of rice, hemp, tobacco, sugar, and indigo, and imports of manufactured goods.

19th Century

• World trade and commerce expanded.
• Manila experienced rapid development as a cosmopolitan center.
• Modern amenities like tramways, waterworks, newspapers, electric lights, and banking systems were introduced.

American Period

• The Philippine Commission established the Bureau of Government Laboratories in 1901 under the Department of Interior.
• The Bureau of Government Laboratories was replaced by the Bureau of Science in 1905.
• The National Research Council of the Philippines was established in 1933.
• The Bureau of Science was replaced by the Institute of Science in 1946.

Selected Philippine Laws on Science and Technology

• RA NO. 51: Authorizes the President to reorganize government entities.
• RA NO. 1606: Promotes scientific, engineering, and technological research, invention, and development.
• RA NO. 2067: Integrates, coordinates, and intensifies scientific and technological research and development and to foster invention
• RA NO. 6959: Establishes provincial centers for science and technology in all provinces.
• RA NO. 10692: Modernizes the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA).
• RA NO. 766: Safeguards against volcanic eruptions by creating a Commission on Volcanology.
• RA NO. 3661: Establishes the Philippine Science High School.
• RA NO. 8496: Establishes the Philippine Science High School System
• RA NO. 9036: Strengthens the governance and defining the scope of the Philippine Science High School System
• RA NO. 3850: Creates a Philippine Inventors Commission to promote and encourage Philippine inventions and their manufacture
• RA NO. 7459: Incentivizes Filipino inventors and expanding the functions of the Technology Application and Promotion Institute
• RA NO. 5526: Establishes the Forest Products Research and Industries Development Commission.
• RA NO. 9236: Establishes a national measurement infrastructure system for standards and measurements
• RA NO. 4724: Develops the metals industry of the Philippines by Establishing the Metals Industry Development Center
• RA NO. 6428: Amends RA NO. 4724 by Reorganizing the Metals Industry Development Center
• RA NO. 5207: Provides for the licensing and regulation of atomic energy facilities and materials
• RA NO. 3083: Regulates the damage claims resulting from nuclear incidents
• RA NO. 4120: Creates a National Research of the Philippine Islands for the promotion of research work along scientific lines
• RA NO. 4086: Promotes the textile industry by exempting Importations of needed raw materials, chemicals, dyestuffs and spare parts
• RA NO. 5448: Imposes a tax on privately owned passenger automobiles, motorcycles, and scooters, and a science stamp tax
• RA NO. 6974: Restoring the name of “National Research Council of the Philippines
• RA NO. 8439: Provides a Magna Carta for Scientists, Engineers, Researchers and Other Science and Technology Personnel in Government
• RA NO. 4090: Provides for state scholarships in science, arts, and letters for poor but deserving students
• RA NO. 7687: Instituting a science and technology scholarship program
• RA NO. 8248: Further Strengthening the Science and Technology Program of the Government
• RA NO. 10612: Expanding the Coverage of the Science and Technology Scholarship Program and Strengthening the Teaching of Science and Mathematics in Secondary Schools
• RA NO. 10055: Providing the Framework and Support System for the Ownership, Management, Use and Commercialization of Intellectual Property Generated From Research and Development Funded by Government
• RA NO. 10344: Penalizing the Unauthorized Taking, Stealing, Keeping or Tampering of Government Risk Reduction and Preparedness Equipment, Accessories And Similar Facilities

Indigenous Science and Technology in the Philippines

• Indigenous Science (IS) relies on direct observation for forecasting and predictions.
• IS connects and perceives patterns across vast cycles of space and time.
• Indigenous scientists are trained in herbalism, weather observations, mental health, and timekeeping.

Critical Distinctions of IS

• IS data accommodates nature, rather than controlling it.
• Indigenous scientists are integral to the research process.
• IS seeks to understand relationships with all living things.
• The purpose of IS is to maintain balance.
• IS collapses time and space.
• IS is holistic, drawing on all senses, including the spiritual and psychic.
• The end-point of IS is exact balance, where creativity occurs.
• We always remain embodied in the natural world.
• Humor balances gravity and is a critical ingredient of truth-seeking.

Definitions

• Indigenous Knowledge: Knowledge accumulated by an indigenous community over generations in a particular environment.
• Traditional Knowledge: Generalized expression of knowledge associating people with time-honored ideas and practices.
• Indigenous Knowledge Systems and Practices (IKSPs): Local knowledge developed over centuries, passed orally from generation to generation.

Great Filipino Scientists and Contributions

• Dr. Clare Baltazar: Authored Philippine Insects, a text on insect fauna native to the Philippines and researched Philippine Hymenoptera.
• Dr. Filomena F. Campos: Researched cotton and industrial sunflower production in the Philippines.
• Luz Oliveros-Belardo: Studied essential oils from Philippine plants for flavoring, fragrance, medicine, and energy.
• Eduardo A. Quisumbing: Studied Philippine medicinal plants and orchids, and wrote Medicinal Plants of the Philippines.
• Bienvenido O. Juliano: Studied rice grain characteristics and proteins, determining that amylose levels affect rice quality in Asia.
• Melecio S. Magno: Studied absorption and fluorescence spectroscopy of rare earth crystals, typhoon effects on atmospheric ozone, sky luminosity, atmospheric radiation, and gravitation.
• Emil Q. Javier: Developed practical solutions to agricultural problems using cheap materials for crop production.
• Alfredo C. Santos: Researched the chemistry of natural products and medicinal properties of Philippine plants for developing affordable drugs.
• Gregorio T. Velasquez: Studied algae (phycology), specifically Myxophyceae, and developed generations of Filipino biologists.
• Gregorio Y. Zara: Invented the video phone, an alcohol-fueled airplane, a solar energy absorber, an aircraft propeller made of wood, a wooden microscope, and a semi-automatic propeller-making machine.