Commonwealth Period

When the Commonwealth government received independence from the Americans

Since it was founded, the Filipinos were occupied with achieving economic independence, but

Recognize the significance and essential function of science and technology for the economy
Declaring that "The State shall foster scientific research" will aid in the nation's development
the short-lived Commonwealth Government was replaced by the
Invasion by the Japanese when the Pacific War started in 1941. The current circumstances
The Japanese rule had made contributions to the Commonwealth during that time.
technological and scientific advancements are virtually unattainable. The same applies when
After World War II, Manila, the nation's capital, was in ruins. The administration had
to rebuild once more and not

S&T IN INDEPENDENCE

The Institute of Science was established in 1946 to take the position of the Bureau of
Science.
under the control of the Philippine President's Office. However, the organization
encountered
government's lack of financial assistance and skilled planning and coordination
problems. A US Economic Survey report to the Philippines from 1950 contains a
lacking fundamental knowledge that was necessary for the nation's industries, and
lacking backing
of experimental work, a meager budget for scientific investigation, and low pay for
employees of the government who are scientists. President Carlos's administration in
1958
The Science Act of 1958, passed by the Philippine Congress and establishing the
Regional Science Development Council (NSDB).

Science and technology were priorities for the Philippine administration.

The Philippine government prioritized institutionalizing science and technology

Building infrastructure-support facilities was used to build capacity.

such as development trainings and new research organizations. Despite how excellent
these projects are
Consequently, it had negligible effects due to a lack of coordination and planning,
between concerned agencies, specifically technology planning, which prevented them
from
executing their responsibilities effectively. This was succinctly demonstrated in the
unforeseen
actions taken by the agency' researchers. Most research fields were carelessly left out.
under the premise that the researchers were performing their work for the
in the nation's best interests. They were told to hunt out scientific and technological
studies with a good chance of commercialisation Without specific standards for
research policy,
The purpose of the research was selfish, leaving everything to chance.

Additionally, during this time, expanding governmental institutions was necessary to

restore the nation.
funding for the manual and trade schools that eventually led to the current state

colleges and universities. The trade schools created skilled workers, such as
technicians who, although remaining analogue, helped the Philippines become more
technological
Agriculturally dependent country When these vocational schools eventually attained
college status
they generated many of the nation's professionals, despite the fact that there
was a significant discrepancy on the low percentage of those in agriculture, medicine,
and the natural sciences.
sciences with those from teacher preparation programs and courses in
business/business administration
which had a higher graduation rate. As a result of the rise in graduates,
the expansion of scientific and engineering professional groups.

S&T in the 60s to 90s

During these years, the government gave greater importance to science and The
government declared in Section 9(1) of the 1973 Philippine Constitution that the
"advancement of science and technology shall have priority in the nationalTaguig as the
site of the Philippine Science Community.

technology was one of the top three priorities of the government towards economic local
scientific and technological effort; (2) Develop local capability to achieve technological
self-reliance; (3) Encourage greater private sector participation in research moreover,
funding for the science and technology sector was tripled The Department of Science
and Technology (DOST) is the premiere science and technology body in the country
charged with the twin mandate of providing central formulating policies, programs and
projects to support national development.

Technology Agenda for National Development (STAND)", a program that was significant
It identified seven export products, 11 domestic needs, three other additional support
industries were included in the list of priority sectors, namely, implemented which
concerns both the environment and science to push technology as a This is to help
increase the productivity from Science, echnology and Innovations (STI) and help
benefit the poor people.

Private sectors were also encouraged to participate in developing Recently, the

Philippines ranked 73rd out of 128 economies in terms of Science and Technology and
Innovation (STI) index, citing the country's strength in research and However, a study by
the Philippine Institute the government, and it also identified the countrTy's low
expenditure in research and adoption allows a country's firms and citizens to benefit
from innovations created in other countries, and allows it to catch up and even leap-frog
obsolete technologies.

Hopes in Philippine Science and Technology science and technology-intensive research

and capacity-building projects which resulted (deity in English) satellite provides
real-time, high-resolution and multi-color infrared productivity measurement and
high-resolution imaging of natural and man-made It enables a mor.e precise estimate of
the country's agricultural production, project developed hydromet sensors and
high-resolution geo-hazard maps, which were generated by light detection and ranging
technology for flood modeling.

Current Initiatives in Philippine S&T

DOST, in cooperation with HEIs and research institutions, established advanced

facilities that seek to spur R&D activities and provide MSMEs access to testing services

needed to increase their productivity and competitive advantage.

The Philippines could also boast of its Genome Center, a core facility that combines

basic and applied research for the development of health diagnostics, therapeutics,

DNA forensics and preventive products, and improved crop varieties.

She said the Philippines also has nanotechnology centers, which provide technical

services and enabling environment for interdisciplinary and collaborative R&D in various

nanotechnology applications.
The Philippines could also boast of its Die and27 Mold Solutions Center, which

enhances the competitiveness of the local tool and die sector through the

localization of currently imported dies and molds.