Mr Angelo Palmones, a nationally known broadcaster, was elected as representative for AGHAM, the party that advocates scientific issues. He was on ANC last night discussing the direction of S & T in the Aquino presidency.
Listening to Rep Palmones on ANC, I could not help but note that it seems he did not get much input from the Filipino professional science community on what direction should Philippine science programs focus. While it is unarguable that much of the problems of Philippine science development lies on the poor state of basic education, that is just one end of the problem.
The success and utility of basic science education lies on top of successes in 1) Literacy, 2) Numeracy, 3) Comprehension in basic education. Science cannot be taught effectively if children do not acquire these skills in the early grades (plus of course encouraging independent and curiosity driven thinking). Here is where the importance of teaching these skills in the first language comes in. And in the Philippines, that cannot be English. But I will not dwell on the language issue. That is for another time.
The other end of the problem is not just lack of scientific infrastructure (that is also important) but more on the direction and priorities of Philippine science development. The operating word here “development”. What kind of development should the Philippines invest in?
This is an important question that developing countries which aim to join the ranks of developed countries should answer. Developing countries and most especially those at near-developed status (as ex Prez Gloria Macapagal Arroyo famously said it!) should carefully identify which priorities must be given scientific investment in time, infrastructure and human resources. For example, Brazil in the 1950s clearly identified aerospace science and technology as a priority. The investment only saw its results in the 1970s with the first Embraer aircraft. Embraer aircraft only made it well in the late 1980s when it finally broke into the international aircraft market dominated by Boeing and Airbus. However right from the start Brazil identified that it makes no sense to compete with American Boeing and European Airbus in the wide body plane market. Thus in the early 21st century, Embraer is the biggest manufacturer of narrow bodied jets, counting among its customers American and European budget airlines. Brazil went to making jets because of national security needs. But it hit the civilian jackpot.
Palmones seems to have an inkling of that by suggesting that the Philippines focus on biotechnology given the biodiversity and genetic resources the country has. However that would involve legal complications as we all know, the past Philippine Congresses have legislated many stringent laws on bioprospecting. These laws make it quite unattractive for business to invest much money on bioprospecting and biotechnology. If Palmones wants to file a bill in the House (which he plans to do so on Monday), he should have provisions to answer these legal difficulties.
Perhaps Representative Palmones can look into the possibility that the Philippines follow the Mexican model in science development. The Philippines shares with Mexico many similarities such as a Hispanic history, close ties with the United States, unique biodiversity resources, a large and well educated professional class, inequitable access to wealth generating opportunities, budget deficits and even with closer economic ties with the US and migrant worker remittances, poverty.
A 2005 study on Mexico’s science infrastructure and human resources was published in Technological Forecasting and Social Change. Using bibliometric methods, the state of Mexico’s science program was assessed. It is worth noting that science investment only becomes evident with the number of science articles published in peer reviewed journals. The researchers identified four Mexican science competencies 1) Biomedical sciences, 2) Physics/Math, 3) Chemistry and 4) Environmental science.
The results shed light on whether Mexico’s accelerated science investment in the last 20 years has paid off and gives the Mexican government basis for deciding which field to invest in and which field not to invest in. The Third World Academy of Science has reviewed Mexico’s investment in science in a report. In Mexico’s case, even if it produces 2000 PhDs a year, it cannot provide employment for half of them, leading the Mexican Congress to pass a law on science and technology development. The law mandates an increase in state support and funding for science. But still science is woefully underfunded.
In Mexico and Brazil, science and technology ARE NOT MARGINAL CONCERNS. THESE ARE IMPORTANT IN REDUCING POVERTY AND SAFEGUARDING THE COUNTRY’S NATURAL PATRIMONY AND NATIONAL SECURITY. It is amazing that in the Philippines, the only way that science can get representation in Congress is through the partylist system (which was meant for marginalized sectors). The main political parties largely ignore science as part of the platform and if they don’t, they just pay lip service to it.
Palmones should consider the possibility of filing a Mexican style Law on Science and Technology that mandates increasing allocation to S&T in accordance with the UN suggested proportion of GDP of 1-2%. We have had laws strengthening S&T especially on science capacity through scholarships (e.g. RA 8248) but no law committing the state to increasing allocations.
While I found Palmones’ plans to give magnifying lenses to all elementary schools rather cute, this I believe is a pogi point moment. But I hope it says much about AGHAM’s suggestion that we focus our science strategies.
Palmones is meeting with Pinoy science professionals to get our ideas.
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Dear BS,
Very good points there. This should be required reading for Licuanan at CHED where higher education seems to be moving farther away from S and T and its long term objectives, and instead follows the quick-money model of the latent job market in the last ten years.
Regards,
Dean
Refreshing change of pace, this article.
It caused me to think of two matters, unrelated.
First, English is indeed difficult to teach in lower grades because kids come in with their family’s language, which generally is not English. Plus a lot of teachers are not skilled in the language. Yet, English is the language that binds all the dialects and ties the Philippines so well to Western economies. It ought to be taught early and every year.
That led me to reflect on the elementary school my 3 daughters in the US attended. It was a “laboratory school” attached to a well-known liberal arts college. By laboratory, it meant the college tested various teaching techniques on the kids attending the school.
The foundational principle was to forget about WHAT the kids learned, or at what pace. Some were faster than others at different subjects; no need to make them failures because they were a tad slow at some subject. Rather, teach kids about the PLEASURE of learning. Teach them the ENJOYMENT that comes with learning new things. Make every kid a success in recognizing his own growth, at his own pace. The result is that kids become vacuum cleaners for knowledge the rest of their lives.
Rather than teaching science or language, or even math, in the first three years of school, teach the excitement of personal growth that comes from learning. That would also enable kids to break out of the mold of passive obedience and rote behaviors, and develop ambition, individuality, respect for differentness and achievement.
The second point is that the solution to many Philippine problems is more money for productive activities. I argue for doubling the Judiciary’s budget to break open the backlogged courts and make the courts a legitimate avenue for people to address grievances. You argue for science money, which is indeed important.
It makes me think about how wasteful it is to spend P50 billion a year on the military, which essentially engages and protects the Philippines against . . . Filipinos.
The Philippines is a nation of peoples fighting against itself.
Clearly, the schools didn’t teach something right.
You either play zero-sum, so doubling for program-XYZ is to take from program-ZED.
Or Noynoy administration can raise money by, say, increasing the tax-rate on DIVIDEND-INCOME in excess of P120,000-a-year. The middle-class and the lower-income groups do not earn dividend-income, so the increase in collection from DIVIDEND-INCOME will be from those families that can afford to pay more.
Also, Pilipinas can hit 2 birds with one stone by increasing the tax-rate on tobacco products. A Presi-Noy willing to let hundreds of troops wait because he does not want to use wangWang should be a Prsi-Noy willing to pay more taxes on cigarettes.
Pilipinas tax-code — the tax on a peso of DIVIDEND-INCOME is MUCH lower than the tax on WAGES/Salaries. MUCH lower.
Mike H,
I think a lot of games are played with taxes. It requires no new increases to value property properly, and tax it at the appropriate rate. I know a tax official in Mindanao who acknowledges they don’t charge full rate because the influential landowners object. It is that scurrilous trade of favors again. The mayor won’t enforce the code because the mayor likes being mayor.
Simple. A common goal, is where Filipinos should start.
This statement, should be the true premise of our Filipino venture, to work as a whole, rather than a group of niche clans. Where it’s principles are applied to their self righteousness.
I believe I’ve read this comment from somewhere…!
“Clearly, the schools didn’t teach something right.”
There’s a grain of truth in Joe America’s comment. Pinoys would prefer to embark on a career that will bring about financial success other than the pure joy of learning. This is mainly due to the brainwashing induced by capitalism – the notion that the only form of success is measured by how much money a person makes. Einsten’s essay “Why Socialism” tackles this issue head on.
The other reason is the Pinoy’s fundamental understanding or the lack thereof, of education. Pinoy nationalists theorize that our system of education is geared towards the operation of American technology. In short, rather than inventing things, we would prefer to have Americans set up factories and plants for us to operate and maintain. Some say that this isn’t a consequence but a scheme concocted by the American imperialists in the same way that the Americans installed an educated, hence innocuous Rizal as national hero instead of a fierce warrior like Bonifacio. Conspiracy theory or not, and Clark and Suic are long gone, there is something amiss with our understanding of what education is and how it should play in our lives. In fact we as a poor country might be better off with de-emphasizing education to some degree and start recognizing and rewarding the dignity in labor. This might be a good start to level off the playing field and uplift the lesser educated among us.
Today our young people will only embark on a career that would give the quickest access to a job to alleviate their poverty. Sad to say, the once lofty goals of achieving personal success is replaced with survival.
How is this for a win-win SCIENCE PROJECT for the Noynoy Administration?
Science area — hydraulics cum civil engineering. The twist — how to do a complex civil engineering project with thousands of manual laborers (in the category of “Cory Aquino” emergency employment program to create jobs).
The Project — build the Paranaque flood spillway, the very one which, because previous administrations decided to exclude it to cut down on construction costs, resulted in additional hundreds of deaths from Ondoy floods.
mike h,
I like your idea, your thinking. LOL…!
This would be a major challenge, for the President Aquino’s administration. To take on, the initiative of building a major Dam. This will alleviate the seasonal flood that is occurring year round, and also provide the Filipino peolpe of massive megawatts that its going to generate from constructing this Dam.
I have watch the Discovery channel documentary of The Three Gorges Dam in China, when it was being built. A great scientific feat of engineering.
This major task will surely bring industrious contracts, labor force to construct such magnificent work of art. Then again, there is a major recourse to the environment, of course.
Let us excel, and show the world what we can do as Filipinos.
That would be the day, indeed.
A major dam of a spillway comparable to The Three Gorges full of thrash from the estero tributaries of the Pasig River. Apart from the massive megawatts, a massive production of massive biogas as well. Unemployment solved too, and flooding, four birds in one stone, no more need for nuclear plant. Ahaaayhehehehe.
bert,
It may not be as big as the “Three Gorges” but it would definately create employments for the Filipinos.
Having killed four birds with one stone, man you are good. You also eliminated nuclear plant, and constructed a green gas plant for our nation.
Yung mga basura naman, well, let’s ask Manny Villar how he would resolve this problematic issue.
The project will save lives, so I hope the Manila Tribute is wrong when it said that the Noynoy administration may not look kindly at the Paranaque Spillway project.
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the Parañaque Spillway was actually programmed by the Marcos government as early as 1974, and P62 million was set aside for its construction as early as 1986, under Presidential Decree no. 475.
But after Marcos was overthrown in February 1986, the incoming Cory Aquino revolutionary government junked the spillway project, but – as in the Bataan nuclear power plant – built or endorsed nothing to take its place. Cory just did not want to continue anything that the hated Marcoses had started.
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[OR... maybe Imelda can make it one of her priority-bills for the 15th Congress.]
mike h,
Whether it be Manila Tribune…,[...] or any public source media, it is unfortunate that I have lost my trust in the Filipino news media in the Philippines.
The journalist in the Philippines has no sets of guidelines, “or if they do, they do not follow them” nor the discipline to bring forth good news, rather; a fictitious one.
“There are a few that I hold highly.”
MLQ3 is being one of them. A much better analyst, than the rest of them.
OK, so much for the plug, and getting back on the Spillway subject.
I would not think it is ironic for Emelda Marcos to conjure such a Bill, and to be pass by the Congress. This would be good for all Filipinos. And, a great start for good governance.