STS 108

SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND

SOCIETY
SHIFTS OF SCIENCE
AND TECHNOLOGY
IN THE PHILIPPINES
In pre-Spanish Philippines, is embedded in the way of

life of the people. Scientific knowledge is observed in

the way they plant their crops that provide them food,

in taking care of animals to help them in their daily

tasks, and foe food productions.

Science is observed in the way they interpret the

movements of heavenly bodies to predict seasons and

climates, and in organizing days into months and years.

They use science in preparing the soil for agricultural

purposes and like any other ancient cultures, they

discovered the medicinal uses.

Technology is used by people in building houses,

irrigations and in developing tools that they can use in

everyday life. They developed tools for planting,

hunting, cooking, and fishing; for fighting their enemies

during war or tribal conflicts; and for transportation,

both on land and on waterways. They also developed

technologies in creating musical instruments.

STONE AGE

Archeological findings show that modern man from

Asian mainland first came over land on across narrow

channels to live in Batangas and Palawan about 48,000

B.C.
Subsequently they formed settlement in Sulu, Davao,

Zamboanga, Samar, Negros, Batangas, Laguna, Rizal,

Bulacan and Cagayan.

 Inventions

They made simple tools and weapons of stone flakes

and later developed method of sawing and polishing

stones around 40,000 B.C.

By around 3,000 B.C. they were producing adzes

ornaments of seashells and pottery. Pottery

flourished for the next 2,000 years until they

imported Chinese porcelain. Soon they learned to

produce copper, bronze, iron, and gold metal tools

and ornaments.
 IRON AGE

The Iron Age lasted from there third century B.C. to

11th century A.D. During this period Filipinos were

engaged in extraction smelting and refining of iron

from ores, until the importation of cast iron from

Sarawak and later from China.

 Inventions/Discoveries

They learn to weave cotton, make glass ornaments,

and cultivate lowland rice and dike fields of terraced

fields utilizing spring water in mountain regions.

They also learned to build boats for trading purposes.

Spanish chronicles noted refined plank built warships

called caracoa suited for interisland trade raids.

 10TH CENTURY A.D

Filipinos from the Butuan were trading with Champa

(Vietnam) and those from Ma-I (Mindoro) with China

as noted in Chinese records containing several

references to the Philippines.

These archaeological findings indicated that regular

trade relations between the Philippines, China and

Vietnam had been well established from the 10th

century to the 15th century A.D.

 Trading

The People of Ma-I and San-Hsu (Palawan) traded bee

wax, cotton, pearls, coconut heart mats, tortoise shell

and medicinal betel nuts, panie cloth for porcelain,

leads fishnets sinker, colored glass beads, iron pots,

iron needles and tin.

 Pre-Spanish Period
Even before the colonization by the
Spaniards in the Philippine islands, the
natives of the archipelago already had
practices linked to science and technology.
Filipinos were already aware of the
medicinal and therapeutic properties of
plants and the methods of extracting
medicine from herbs.
Filipinos were already engaged in farming, shipbuilding, mining and weaving.

The Banaue Rice Terraces are among the sophisticated products of engineering

by pre-Spanish era Filipinos.

Spanish Colonial Period

The colonization of the Philippines contributed to

growth of science and technology in the archipelago.

The Spanish introduced formal education and founded

scientific institution. During the early years of Spanish

rule in the Philippines.

Parish schools were established where religion,

reading, writing, arithmetic and music was taught.

Sanitation and more advanced methods of agriculture

was taught to the natives. Later the Spanish

established colleges and universities in the archipelago

including the University of Santo Tomas.

The study of medicine in the Philippines was given

priority in the Spanish era, especially in the later years.

The Spanish also contributed to the field of engineering

in the islands by constructing government buildings,

churches, roads, bridges and forts. Biology is given

focus.
Contributors to science in the archipelago during the

19th century were botanists, Fr. Ignacio Mercado., Dr.

Trinidad Pardo de Tavera and Dr. Leon Ma Guerrero,

chemist Anaclento del Rosario, and medicine scholars

Dr. Manuel Guerrero, Dr, Jose Montes and Dr. Elrodario

Mercado.
The Galleon Trade have accounted in the Philippine

colonial economy. Trade was given more focus by the

Spaniard colonial authorities due to the prospects of

big profits. Agriculture and industrial development on

the other hand were relatively neglected.

The opening of the Suez Canal saw the influx of

European visitors to the Spanish colony and some

Filipinos were able to study in Europe who were

probably influenced by the rapid development of

scientific ideals brought by the Age of

Enlightenment.
American Period and Post-Commonwealth era
Angel Alcala, national scientist, is seen wearing deep
blue and yellow academic gown with cap, deep blue
with gold tassel.
Angel Alcala is a national scientist noted for his work in
marine and aquatic biology.
The progress of science and technology in the
Philippines continued under American rule of the
islands.
On July 1, 1901 The Philippine Commission established

the Bureau of Government Laboratories which was

placed under the Department of Interior. The Bureau

replaced the Laboratorio Municipal, which was

established under the Spanish colonial era. The Bureau

dealt with the study of tropical diseases and laboratory

projects.
On October 26, 1905, the Bureau of Government

Laboratories was replaced by the Bureau of Science

and on December 8, 1933, the National Research

Council of the Philippines was established. The Bureau

of Science became the primary research center of the

Philippines until World War II.

Science during the American period was inclined

towards agriculture, food processing, forestry,

medicine and pharmacy. Not much focus was given on

the development of industrial technology due to free

trade policy with the United States which nurtured an

economy geared towards agriculture and trade.

In 1946 the Bureau of Science was replaced by the

Institute of Science. In a report by the US Economic

Survey to the Philippines in 1950, there is a lack of

basic information which were necessities to the

country’s industries, lack of support of experimental

work and minimal budget for scientific research and

low salaries of scientists employed by the government.

In 1958, during the regime of President Carlos P.

Garcia, the Philippine Congress passed the

Science Act of 1958 which established the

National Science Development Board.

Marcos Era and Martial Law
During Ferdinand Marcos’ presidency, the
importance given to science grew. In the amended
1973 Philippine Constitution, Article XV, Section 9
(1), he declared that the “advancement of science
and technology shall have priority in the national
development.” In his two terms of presidency and
during Martial Law, he enacted many laws
promoting science and technology.
Fifth Republic
In 1986, during Corazon Aquino’s presidency, the

National Science and Technology Authority was

replaced by the Department of Science and

Technology, giving science and technology a

representation in the cabinet.

Under the Medium Term Philippine Development Plan for

the years 1987-1992, science and technology’s role in

economic recovery and sustained economic growth was

highlighted. During Corazon Aquino’s State of the Nation

Address in 1990, she said that science and technology

development shall be one of the top three priorities of

the government towards an economic recovery.

On August 8, 1988, Corazon Aquino created the

Presidential Task Force for Science and Technology

which came up with the first Science and Technology

Master Plan or STMP. The goal of STMP was for the

Philippines to achieve newly industrialized country

status by the year 2000.

Due to the Asian financial crisis, budget allocation for

the years 1990 and 1991 were trimmed down to 920

and 854 million pesos respectively. Budget allocation

were increased to 1.7 billion pesos in 1992.

During her term, President Corazon Aquino encouraged
scientists and inventors to bring the Philippines to its
former position as second to only Japan in the field of
science and technology. One of the goals of her
administration was to achieve the status as being an
industrialized country by 2000. She urged that the
private research sector form a stronger bond between
public research to help jump-start the progress in the
area of Philippine Research and Development.
R.A. 6655 or the Free Public Secondary Education Act
of 1988 opened doors to free education up to the
secondary level, implemented in the education system
together with this was the “Science for the Masses
Program” which aimed at scientific and technological
literacy among Filipinos. The Aquino administration
recognized the importance of science and technology
in the development of the Philippines into a newly
industrialized country.
Funding for the science and technology sector was

tripled from 464 million in 1986 to 1.7 billion in 1992.

The Science and Technology Master Plan was

formulated which aimed at the modernization of the

production sector, upgrading research activities, and

development of infrastructure for science and

technological purposes.
A Research and Development Plan was also formulated
to examine and determine which areas of research
needed attention and must be given priority. The
criteria for identifying the program to be pursued were,
development of local materials, probability of success,
potential of product in the export market, and the its
strategic nature. The grants for the research and
development programs was included in the Omnibus
Investment Law.
There were noticeable improvements regarding science

and technology as stated in President Fidel Ramos’

State of the Nation Address. In his third SONA, there

was a significant increase in personnel specializing in

the science and technology field. At 1998, the

Philippines was estimated to have around 3,000

competent scientists and engineers.

Adding to the increase of scientists would be the result

of the two newly built Philippine Science High Schools

in Visayas and Mindanao which promotes further

development of young kids through advance S&T

curriculum. The government provided 3,500

scholarships for students who were taking up

professions related to S&T.

Schools were becoming more modernized and updated
with the addition of high-tech equipment for student
improvement and teachers were getting training
programs to benefit themselves and their students.
Health care services were promoted through local
programs such as “Doctors to the Barrio Program.” The
health care programs were innovative and effective as
shown by the change in life expectancy from 67.5 years
in 1992 to 69.1 years in 1995.
Priority for S&T personnel increased when Magna Carta
for Science and Technology Personnel (Republic Act No.
8439) was established. The award was published in order
to give incentives and rewards for people who have been
influential in the field of S&T. In the sixth SONA,
education was one of the primary story-lines wherein
programs such as National Program for Gifted Filipino
Children in Science and Technology and enactment of a
law creating a nationwide system of high schools
specializing in the field of science and engineering.
Fidel V. Ramos believes that science and technology

was one of the means wherein the Philippines could

attain the status of new industrialized country (NIC).

During his term, he was able to establish programs that

were significant to the field of S&T. In 1993, Science

and Technology Agenda for National Development

(STAND) was established.

Among its priorities were: (1) exporting winners

identified by the DTI; (2) domestic needs identified by

the President’s Council for Countryside Development;

(3) support industries and (4) coconut industry

development. Congress, during his term, was able to

enact laws that were significant for the field.

Among were: (1) Magna Carta for Science and Technology

Personnel (Republic Act No. 8439); (2) Science and

Technology Scholarship Law of 1994 (Republic Act No. 7687)

and (3) Inventors and Inventions Incentives Act (Republic Act

No. 7459). The Intellectual Property Code of the Philippines

(Republic Act No. 8293) was enacted during Ramos’ term.

The law provides industrial property rights, copyrights and

related rights, and technology transfer arrangements.

In President Joseph Estrada’s term, two major
legislations that he signed were Philippine Clean Air Act
of 1999 (Republic Act No. 8749) which was designed to
protect and preserve the environment and ensure the
sustainable development of its natural resources, and
Electronic Commerce Act of 2000 (Republic Act No.
8792) which outlaws computer hacking and provides
opportunities for new businesses emerging from the
Internet-driven New Economy.
Aside from these, in his first State of the Nation
Address, President Estrada launched a full-scale
program based on cost-effective irrigation
technologies. He also announced that Dole-outs are
out, which meant basic health care, basic nutrition, and
useful education for those who want, but cannot afford
it. Lastly, he said that they would speed up the program
to establish one science high school in every province.
It was in his second State of the Nation Address that
President Estrada announced the passage of the
Clean Air Act, and the decision to pursue the 15-year
modernization program of the Armed Forces of the
Philippines. His last State of the Nation Address
pushed for the advancement of industries and
schools into the Internet age, as well as the
announcement of the passage of the e-Commerce
Act.
In the Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo administration, the

science and technology sector of the Philippines was

dubbed as the “golden age” of science and technology

by then secretary Estrella Albastro . Numerous laws

and projects that concerns both the environment and

science to push technology as a tool to increase the

country’s economic level.

This is to help increase the productivity from Science,

Technology and Innovations (STI) and help benefit the

poor people. Moreover, the term “Filipinnovation” was

the coined term used in helping the Philippines to be

an innovation hub in Asia.

The STI was developed further by strengthening the
schools and education system such as the Philippine
Science High School (PSHS), which focuses in science,
technology and mathematics in their curriculum. This
helps schools produce get more involve in this sector.
Private sectors were also encouraged to participate in
developing the schools through organizing events and
sponsorships. Future Filipino scientists and innovators
can be produced through this system
Helping the environment was one of the focus in
developing technology in the Philippines. One of the
more known laws to be passed by her administration
was the R.A. 9367 or the “Biofuels” act. This act
promotes the development and usage of biofuels
throughout the country. This potentially enables a
cheaper alternative to gasoline as a medium in
producing energy
Also, this benefits the environment since it boasts a
cleaner emission compared to regular fuel. Yet,
setbacks such as lack of raw materials is holding the full
implementation of the laws since importing the
necessary materials are imported more. On one had,
drought-free rice was also highly encouraged to by
used during her term. This enables farmers to produce
rice despite the environmental hazards that slows or
stops the production.
In an effort to improve the efficiency of both land and
water, the government imposes Republic Act 10601
which improves the Agriculture and Fisheries Sector
through Mechanization (AFMech). RA 10601 covers
research, development, and extension (RDE),
promotion, distribution, supply, assembling,
manufacturing, regulation, use, operation,
maintenance and project implementation of
agricultural and fisheries machinery and equipment
(Section 4).
In 2014, President Aquino conferred four new National
Scientist for their contribution in the Scientific field,
Academicians Gavino C. Trono, Angel C. Alcala, Ramon
C. Barba, and Edgardo D. Gomez was honored in their
respective fields. Trono’s contribution helped a lot of
families in the coastal populations through the
extensives studies he made on seaweed species. On
the other hand, Alcala served as the pioneer scientist
and advocate of coral reefs aside from his contribution
in the fields of systematics, secology and herpetology.
Barba’s contribution changes the seasonal supply of

fresh fruits to an all year round availability of mangoes

through his studies on the induction of flowering of

mango and micropropagation of important crop

species. Lastly, Gomez steered the national-scale

assessment of damage coral reefs which led a national

conservation.
Aquino ‘instrumental' in dev’t of PH’s microsatellites
Published June 25, 2021, 2:14 PM by Charissa Luci-Atienza , Manila Bulletin

The Department of Science and Technology (DOST)

has paid tribute to the late President Benigno S. Aquino
III, honoring his “immense” contributions to the
science and technology community, which include the
development of the country’s microsatellites.
According to DOST Secretary Fortunato “Boy” T. de
la Peña, President Aquino, has contributed immensely
to the science and technology (S&T) community,”
“Diwata-1 is the first micro satellite owned by the
Philippine government involving Filipino engineers in
its development.
The historic launch of the 50-kilogram satellite was
held on March 23, 2016
 It was also Aquino who signed into law Republic Act
No. 10692 or An Act Providing for the Modernization of
the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and
Astronomical Services Administration (DOST-PAGASA).

The law compels the weather bureau, an agency under

the DOST, to modernize its technological operational
capacity and strengthen its role as the premier national
weather agency to attain its vision as a center of
excellence for weather-related information services.
 The development of an Information Communications
Technology (ICT) dubbed as “Thin Client Cloud
Computing Project” was also included in the list of
Aquino’s major accomplishments in the S&T community.

ICT project was implemented by the Department of

Education (DepEd), the Philippine Development
Foundation (PhilDev), the University of the Philippines
Diliman (UPD), and the DOST.
“This is in line with his directive that “Education is for all
and no Filipino should be left behind.”
Science and Technology under Duterte Administration

In the field of transportation, the first locally-made

hybrid-electric train (HET) was officially turned over to
the Philippine National Railways (PNR).

Made by Filipino engineers, HET is powered by

batteries, and could run at a speed of about 50 kph and
could accommodate 220 passengers.
 In the field of healthcare, he noted the

Biotek-M dengue diagnostic kit has qualified for Asean market

penetration with the help of the Asean Network for Diagnostics.

Funded by the DOST and developed in partnership with the

University of the Philippines - Manila, this kit was developed for
early detection and management of dengue.

It has the power of DNA/RNA-based accurate detection of the

dengue virus and can be used in health centers and hospitals

It has the power of DNA/RNA-based accurate detection of the

dengue virus and can be used in health centers and hospitals
 Philippine Earth Data Resource and Observation
(PEDRO), this ground receiving station (GRS) in Davao,
was designed to communicate with earth observation
satellites, including Filipino-made Diwata-1 and
Diwata-2 microsatellites, by receiving, processing, and
distributing space-borne imagery.

This will also be utilized for agricultural monitoring,

maritime surveillance and urban mapping.
 In line with disaster risk reduction and mitigation, the
DOST has launched four applications (apps).

These apps are the GeoMapper-Exposure Data Mapper,

GeoMapper-Situation Data Mapper, Geo Analytics, and
HazardHunter PH.

Developed under the GeoRiskPhilippines Initiative project

of DOST, these apps show hazard maps, exposure data.

Hazard Hunter, for instance, helps people to know if their

location is at risk for volcanic eruptions, tsunamis, and other
hazards.
 A so-called USHER (Universal Structural Health
Evaluation and Recording System) was also launched.

"USHER was launched as a commercialized R&D

(research and development) product for passive
seismic monitoring of buildings and bridges.
Developed through research funding from the DOST,
this equipment monitors the "health" of buildings, to
determine if these could withstand a strong
earthquake.
 Diwata-1 / PHL-Microsat-1 (Philippine Scientific Earth
Observation Microsatellite-1)

Background:

Hokkaido University and Tohoku University of Japan

initiated a project to send 50 microsatellites into space by
2050. The project will photograph aftermaths of natural
disasters, partnering with governments, universities and
other organizations based in Bangladesh, Indonesia, Malaysia,
Myanmar, Mongolia, Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam. Two
satellites are commissioned for the Philippine government.
Photo of the Diwata-1 microsatellite - serving as a
training platform and pave the way for the Filipino
Team to further develop their skills in space
technology
A team of nine Filipino engineers from the DOST/ASTI
(Advanced Science and Technology Institute) and the
University of the Philippines, dubbed the "Magnificent
9", were responsible for the development and
production of Diwata-1 and collaborated with
scientists and engineers from the two Japanese
universities, Hokkaido University and Tohoku
University.
On January 13, 2016, the Diwata-1 microsatellite was
turned over to JAXA at the Tsukuba Space Center by
the Philippine and Japanese Teams
Launch

The Diwata-1 microsatellite was launched on March

23, 2016 (03:05:51 UTC) as a secondary payload of the
Cygnus CRS OA-6 cargo of the commercial OA (Orbital
ATK) mission and the second flight of an enhanced
Cygnus spacecraft to the ISS. NASA partner Orbital ATK
launched its unmanned Cygnus cargo ship from Cape
Canaveral, Florida, atop a United Launch Alliance
Atlas-5 rocket. This was the second flight of an
enhanced Cygnus spacecraft to the ISS and the fifth of
ten flights by Orbital ATK under the Commercial
Resupply Services contract with NASA.
 May 12, 2020: Diwata-1, the Philippines' first microsatellite,
has ended its four years in Earth orbit, burning up in the
atmosphere on April 6, 2020. The microsatellite captured more
than 17,000 images of the Philippines, covering 38% of the
country's land area. Diwata-1 ushered in an age of Earth satellite
observation in the Philippines, contributing to science-based
approaches to planning, conservation, risk management, and
mapping. 

When reports came out that the microsatellite Diwata-1 of

the Philippines had re-entered the Earth's atmosphere on April 6,
ending its mission, it made headlines for being the first
microsatellite designed, built and operated by Filipinos.
 Diwata-1 spent four years in space capturing
images that have helped pave the way for the use of
space technology to analyze environmental change in
the Philippines, contributing to science-based
approaches to conservation, risk management, and
nationwide mapping.

 A visual representation of Diwata-1's coverage of the

Philippines during its four-year mission.
 
As of January 13, 2017, Diwata-1 has circled
the world approximately 4,083 times, taking
images not just of the Philippines but also of
other parts of the Earth.
December 31, 2017: Nearly 2 years in its
low-Earth orbit, have captured over 15,000
images.

A derived image of Mount Pinatubo taken by the Diwata-1

Spaceborne Multispectral Imager sensor on April 19, 2017.
The reddish patches represent the local flora in the area