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History of Technology and Science (Philippines)

Science, Technology and Society

Science and Technology in Philippines (History)

1. Stone Age

 Archeological studies indicate that modern men from the Asian

mainland first arrived in Batangas and Palawan around 48,000 B.C.
by overland travel across limited canals.
o They established themselves in the provinces of...
 Davao
 Zamboanga
 Samar
 Batangas
 Laguna
 Rizal
 Bulacan
 Cagayan.
 The earliest known fossil remains in the Philippines, Tabon man,
were discovered in Palawan
o It is estimated to be around 20,000 years old.
 Around 40,000 B.C., they devised a process of sawing and
smoothing stones and produced primitive tools and weapons out of
stoneflakes.
 Around the year 3,000 B.C., they were making adzes, seashell
jewelry, and earthenware.
 Pottery prospered for the next 2,000 years until Chinese porcelain
was introduced
 quickly learned how to create copper, iron, and gold metal
equipment and ornaments.
2. Metal Age Discoveries

 The Iron Age began in the third century B.C. and continued until the
fifth century B.C.
 Until the arrival of cast iron from Sarawak and then from China in
the 11th century A.D., Filipinos were involved in the mining,
smelting, and refining of iron from ores.
 learn to weave cotton, produce glass ornaments, and farm lowland
rice and dike fields of terraced fields in mountain regions using
spring water
 learnt how to build boats for trading
 According to Spanish chronicles, polished plank-built warships
known as caracoa were used for inter-island commerce raids.

3. 10th century A.D

 As mentioned in Chinese documents having multiple allusions to

the Philippines, Filipinos from Butuan were dealing with Champa
(Vietnam) and those from Ma-I (Mindoro) with China
 These archaeological discoveries revealed that regular trade links
existed between the Philippines, China, and Vietnam from the 10th
to the 15th centuries A.D.
 Ma-I and San-Hsu (Palawan) people exchanged bee wax, cotton,
pearls, coco heartmats, tortoiseshell and therapeutic betel nuts,
panea fabric for porcelain, leads fishnets sinker, colorful glass
beads, iron cookware, iron needles, and tin.
4. Before Spain colonization

 Filipinos were already involved in science-related activities and

behaviors, resulting in primitive or first-wave technology
 On how to obtain medication from herbs, they were curative
properties of some plants
 had an alphabet, a writing system, a technique of counting and
weights, and a measuring system.
 didn't have a calendar, so they counted the years by the phases of
the moon as well as from one harvest to the next.

5. Spanish Era/Colonization 16th Century

 Initially, the Spanish saw the Philippines as a gateway to the richest

of the East Indies (Spice Islands)
 despite several failed trips, including Ferdinand Magellan's
excursion to Cebu, where he died, King Philip II despatched Miguel
Lopez DE Legazpi, who built the first Spanish colony in Cebu in
1565
 in 1571, the Spanish City of Manila was established
 by the end of the 16th century, most of the coastal and lowland
portions of Luzon, Panay, and Northern Mindanao were also under
Spanish authority.
 Hospitals were established, including
o Hospital de Real de Manila (1577)
 o the San Juan Lazaro Hospital, the oldest and longest-running
hospital in the Far East (1578)
o Hospital San Juan de Dios (1596)
 First schools were established, including
o Colegio de San Ildefonso in Cebu (1595)
o Colegio de San Ignacio in Manila (1595)
o Colegio de Nuestra Senora del Rosario in Manila (1597)
o Colegio de San Jose in Manila (1601).

6. 17th and 18th Century

 Successive shipwrecks and pirate attacks on galleons resulted in

diminishing trade revenues, resulting in economic depression in
Manila throughout the later part of the 17th century.
 The Real Sociedad Economica de los Amigos Del Pais de Filipinas,
formed in 1780 by Governador Jose Basco y Vargas, fostered
agricultural and industrial development.
 The development of indigo, cotton, cinnamon, and silk was fostered
by society
 Manila was opened to Asian shipping in 1789, ushering in an age of
increased exports of rice, hem, and sugar, as well as imports of
manufactured goods.
7. 19th Century

 The colonial rulers issued a royal decree reforming the current

educational system in 1863.
 The school of medicine and pharmacy was established at UST in
1871
 after 15 years, it had awarded the college education of Licenciado
En Medicina to 62 graduates.
 The first six graduates of the licentiate degree, which is comparable
to a Master's degree, were awarded a Bachelor's degree in
pharmacy, which includes Leon Ma.
o Because of his study on Medicinal Plants of the Philippines,
Guerrero is regarded as the father of Philippine pharmacy.
 There was no engineering school, but they did provide a four-year
nautical training for commercial marine pilots that included the
following subjects:
 Arithmetic
 Algebra
 Geometry
 Trigonometry
 Physics
 Hydrography
 Meteorology
 Navigation
 Pilotage.
 Higher education was often regarded as inciting insurrection among
native Filipinos
 only a few bold students were able to pursue higher education.
 Manila's rapid expansion as a cosmopolitan metropolis was
facilitated by increased global trade and commerce in the latter
part of the nineteenth century.
 In the nineteenth century, modern conveniences such as steam
tramways, water system, newspaper, lightbulbs, and banking
systems were introduced.
 In 1865, Jesuits promoted meteorological studies by establishing
the Manila Observatory at the Ateneo Municipal de Manila.

8. American Colonization

 During the relatively brief American period, science was oriented

around agriculture, food processing, medicine, and pharmacy
 Due to the free trade policy with the United States, which fostered
an economy centered on agriculture and trade, little emphasis was
placed on the development of industrial technology.
 The curriculum from the United States was implemented
o The University of College of Agriculture at Los Baos-1909
o College of Liberal Arts, Engineering, and Veterinary-1910
o College of Law-1911
o Tropical Medicine and Public Health Courses-1915
o Forestry Courses-1916
o College of Education-1918
 9. Current State (Contemporary Times)

 According to the Global Innovation Index 2020, the Philippines is

one of the economies that has made the most substantial
advancement in its GII ranking over time, attaining its greatest rank
ever this year, breaking into the top 50 after placing 100th in 2014
o undoubtedly be attributed to greater innovation performance.
 The Philippines is ranked fourth among the 29 economies in the
lower-middle income group.
 The Philippines is the 11th largest economy in Southeast Asia, East
Asia, and Oceania.
 the Philippines ranks 70th in terms of innovation inputs, up from
last year and from 2018
 The Philippines ranks 41st in terms of innovation outputs. This
place is higher than 2018
 the Philippines consistently outperforms in terms of innovation
outputs rather than innovation inputs.

Chart of Philippine Rankings 2019

Knowledge and Technology 26

outputs
Business sophistication29
GII 2020 50

Creative outputs 57
Infrastracture 63

Market sophistication 86
Human capital and research 86
Institutions91
STRENGTHS

1. Infrastructure: excels in the indicators E-participation and GDP per

unit of energy use
2. Market sophistication: possesses strengths in the sub-pillar Trade,
competition, and market scale as well as one of its indicators –
Domestic market scale
3. Business sophistication: demonstrates strength in the sub-pillar
Knowledge absorption as well as the indications Firms providing
formal trainin and High-tech imports
4. Knowledge and technology outputs: indicates strengths in the sub-
pillar Knowledge diffusion as well as four indicators: Utility models
by origin Productivity growth, High-tech exports, and ICT services
exports
5. Creative outputs: Creative products exports is a promising
indicator.

WEAKNESSES

1. Institutions (91): shows shortcomings in the indicators Cost of

redundancy dismissal and Ease of opening a company
2. Human capital and research (86): has deficiencies in the sub-pillar
Education, as well as three indicators: education expenditure , PISA
scales and R&D-intensive global enterprises
3. Market sophistication (86): reveals flaws in the sub-pillar Credit )
and two of its three parameters: Ease of obtaining credit, and
Microfinance gross loans
4. Business sophistication (29): the indication R&D funded by foreign
sources is a weakness.
5. Knowledge & technology outputs (26): reveals deficiencies in the
categories Scientific & technical publications and New businesses