SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, AND SOCIETY

LESSON 2

 BRIEF HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF SCIENCE AND

TECHNOLOGY IN THE PHILIPPINES
- started way back before the country gained its independence
from the American colonizers.
-before the Spanish colonizers, the inhabitants of the archipelago
had their own culture and traditions.
-had their own belief system and indigenous knowledge system that
keeps them organize and sustain their lives and communities for
many years.

 PRE-SPANISH PHILIPHINES

 SCIENCE
-embedded in the way of life of the people.
-observed in the way they plant their crops that provide them food.
Care for the animals and food production.
-observe the way they interpret the movement of heavenly bodies
to predict the seasons and climates, and organizing days into
months and years.
-preparing the soil for agricultural purposes.
-discovered the medicinal uses of plants.

 TECHNOLOGY
- building houses, irrigation, and developing tools that they use in
everyday life.
-tools for planting, hunting,cooking, and fishing.
-tools for fighting enemies during tribval wars.
-for transportation. Both land and waterways.
-creating musical instruments.

 METAL AGE
-significant influence on the lives of early Filipinos.
-sophisticated design of gold and silver jewelry, ceramics, and metal
tools.
-trading with nearby countries have influenced their lives by
providing different opportunities for cultural and technological
exchange.
-all ancient practices now considered as indigenous science or folk
science.

 SPANISH
-brought their own culture and practices.
-introduced the christianity.
-established school for boys and girls and introduced the concept of
subjects and discipline.
-beginning of formal science and technology in the country, known
now as school of science and technology.

 LEARNING
-focuses on understanding different concepts related to the human
body, plants, animals, and heavenly bodies.

 LIFE
-slowly become modernize, adapting some Western technology and
their way of life.
-Filipinos developed ways to replicate the technology brought by the
Spaniards using indigenous materials.
-medicine and advanced science were introduced in formal colleges
and universities, established by the Catholic order.

 GALLEON TRADE
-brought additional technology and development in the Philippines.
-only beneficial for the Spaniards, these trades allowed other ideas,
crops, tools, cultural practices, technology, and Western practices to
reach the country.
-some Filipino students were able to study in Europe, contribute to
the advancement of medicine, engineering, arts, music, and
literature in the country.
-the Philippines, one of the centers of global trade in Southeast Asia
during this time.
-considered to be one of the most developed places in the region.
-superstitious beliefs and the Catholic doctrines and practices of the
Spanish era halted the growth of science and technology.

 AMERICANS
-more influence in the development of science and technology in
the country compared to the Spaniards.
-establish public education system, improved the engineering works
and the health conditions of the people.
-establish a modern research university, the University of the
Philippines.
-created more public hospitals that the former colonial master.
-mineral resources of the country were also explored and exploited
during the American times.
-transportation and communication systems improved, though not
accessible throughout the country.
-’’ AMERICANIZE’’ the Philippines.
-reorganized the learning of science and introduced it in public and
private schools.

 BASIC EDUCATION
- education focuses on nature studies and nature and sanitation,
until it become a subject formally known as ‘’SCIENCE’’.

 HIGHER EDUCATION
-also greatly improved and modernized.
- researches were done to control malaria, cholera, and tuberculosis
and other tropical disease.

 DESIRE
- develop the human resources of the Philippines to serve their own
interests, beneficial in the country.
-allowed Americans scholars to introduce new knowledge and
technology in the country.

 PROTESTANT CHURCH
-mission in different places in the country also brought hospitals and
schools to far-flung areas.
-little by little, these efforts built a stronger foundation for science
and technology in the country.

 WORLD WAR II
-destabilized the development of the country in many ways.

1. Institutions and public facilities were burned to ashes.

2. The country had a difficult time to rebuild itself from the war.
3. Human spirit to survive and to rebuild the country is strong but
the capacity of the country to bring back what was destroyed
was limited.
4. Reparation funds focused on building some institutions and
public facilities.
5. The reparation from JAPAN was concentrated on building
highways and in providing technological training and human
resources development in the country.

 DEVELOPMENT OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY IN THE

PHILIPPINES

 INTERNAL INFLUENCES
a. Survival
b. Cultural
c. Economic Activities

 EXTERNAL INFLUENCES
a. Foreign Colonizers
b. Trade with Foreign Countries
c. International Economic Demands

GOVERNMENT POLICIES ON SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

The Philippine government introduced and implemented

several programs, projects, and policies to boost the area of science
and technology. The goal is to prepare the whole country and its
_people to meet_the demands of a technologically driven world and
capacitate the people to live in a world driven by science.

Padilla-Concepcion (2015) reported that in 2015, in response

to the ASEAN 2015 Agenda, the government, particularly the
Department of Science and Technology (DOST), has sought the
expertise of the National Research Council of the Philippines (NCRP)
to consult various sectors in the society to study how the Philippines
can prepare itself in meeting the ASEAN 2015 Goals. As a result of
the consultation, the NCRP is expected to .recommend policies and
programs that will improve the competitiveness of the Philippines in
the ASEAN Region.

The NCRP clustered these policies into four, namely:

1. Social Sciences, Humanities, Education, International Policies and

Governance
 Integrating ASEAN awareness in basic education without adding
to the curriculum
 Emphasizing teaching in the mother tongue
 Developing school infrastructure and providing for ICT
broadband
 Local food security

2. Physics, Engineering and Industrial. Research, Earth and Space

Sciences, and Mathematics
 Emphasizing degrees, licenses, and
 employment opportunities
 Outright grants for peer monitoring Review of R.A. 9184
 Harnessing science and technology as an independent mover of
development

3. Medical, Chemical, and Pharmaceutical Sciences

 Ensuring compliance of drug-manufacturing firms with ASEAN-
harmonized standards by full implementation of the Food and
Drug Administration
 Creating an education council dedicated standardization of
pharmaceutical services and care
 Empowering food and drug agencies to conduct evidence- based
research'as pool of information
 Allocating two percent of the GDP to research
 Legislating a law supporting human genome projects

4 .Biological Sciences, Agriculture, and Forestry

 Protecting and conserving biodiversity by full implementation of
existing laws
 Use of bio-safety and standard model by ASEAN countries
 Promoting indigenous knowledge systems and indigenous
people's conservation
 Formulation of common food and safety standards

There are also other existing programs supported by the Philippine

government through the DOST. Some of these projects are the
following:

 Providing funds for basic research and patents related to science

and technology. The government funds basic and applied
researches. Funding of these research and projects are also from
the Official Development Assistant (ODA) from different
countries.
 Providing scholarships for undergraduate and graduate studies
of students in the field of science and technology. Saloma (2015)
pointed out that the country needs to produce more doctoral
graduates in the field of science and technology, and produce
more research in these fields, including engineering.
 Establishing more branches of the Philippine Science High School
System for training young Filipinos in the field of science and
technology.
 Creating science and technology parks to encourage academe
and industry partnerships.
 Balik Scientist Program to encourage Filipino scientists abroad to
come home and work in the Philippines or conduct research and
projects in collaboration with Philippine-based scientists.
 Developing science and technology parks in academic campuses
to encourage academe and industry partnerships.
 The establishment of the National Science Complex and
National. Engineering Complex within the University of the
Philippines campus in Diliman. These aimed to develop more
science and technology and engineering manpower resources
needed by the country. They also aimed to produce more
researches in these fields.
 The Philippine-American Academy of Science and Engineering
(PAASE, 2008) identified several capacity-building programs such
as:

 Establishment of national centers of excellence

 Manpower and institutional development programs, such as the
Engineering and Science Education Program (ESEP)to produce
more PhD graduates in science and engineering
 Establishment of regional centers to support specific industries
that will lead the country in different research and development
areas
 Establishment of science and technology business centers to
assist, advise, and incubate technopreneurship ventures
 Strengthen science education at an early stage through the
Philippine Science High School system

In the field of education, several science-related programs and

projects were created to develop the scientific literacy of the
country. Special science classes were organized and special science
elementary schools were established in different regions. Aside from
these, science and mathematics in basic education were
continuously improved. The current K to 12,education program
included Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics
(STEM) as one of its major tracks in the senior high school program
to encourage more students to enroll in science-related fields in
college.

Lately, the Commission on Higher Education launched its

Philippine-California Advanced Research Institutes (PICARI) Project
to allow several higher education institutions in the Philippines and
some US- based laboratories, research institutes, and universities to
work on research and projects related to science, agriculture,
engineering, health, and technology. This project is hoped to
strengthen the STEM competitiveness of the country.

There are many other areas and fields that the country is
looking forward to embark various research and projects. The
following are some of them:

1. Use of alternative and safe energy

2. Harnessing mineral resources
3. Finding cure for various diseases and illness
4. Climate change and global warming
5. Increasing food production
6. Preservation of natural resources
7. Coping with natural disasters and calamities
8. Infrastructure development

The Philippine Congress has also created various laws related

to science and technology. These laws serve as a legal framework
for science and technology in the country. These laws vary
according to different themes such as: conservation, health-related,
technology-building, and supporting basic research, among others.
Some laws and policies are in line with international treaties such as
the United Nations (UN), United Nations Educational, Scientific and
Cultural Organization (UNESCO), Association of Southeast Asian
Nations (ASEAN) and other international agencies.

As shown in the diagram, the development of policies in

science and technology is shaped or influenced by several variables:
policies need to be aligned to national goals, consider international
commitments based on legal frameworks, and respond to various
social needs, issues, and problems. Science and technology policies
ensure that the whole country and all people will experience the
progress that science can bring. Policies are guides to direct all
efforts to a goal of developing a scientifically advanced country.

Famous Filipinos in the Field of Science

School science is filled with names of foreign scientists:
Einstein, Galileo Galilei, Newton, Faraday, Darwin, and many other
Western scientists. We rarely hear of Filipino scientists being
discussed in science classes. Lee-Chua (2000) identified 10
outstanding Filipino scientists who have made significant
contributions in Philippine science. These scientists are also famous
abroad especially in different science disciplines: agriculture,
mathematics, physics, medicine, marine science, chemistry,
engineering, and biology.

These Filipino scientists are:

1. Ramon Cabanos Barba - for his outstanding research on tissue
culture in Philippine mangoes
2. Josefino Cacas Comiso - for his works on observing the
characteristics of Antarctica by using satellite images
3. Jose Bejar Cruz Jr.- known internationally in the field of
electrical engineering; was elected as officer of the famous Institute
of Electrical and Electronic Engineering
4. Lourdes Jansuy Cruz- notable for her research on sea snail
venom
5. Fabian Millar Dayrit- for his research on herbal medicine
6. Rafael Dineros Guerrero III- for his research on tilapia culture
7. Enrique Mapua Ostrea Jr.-. for inventing the meconium drugs
testing
8. Lilian Formalejo Patena- for doing research on plant
biotechnology
9. Mari-Jo Panganiban Ruiz- for being an outstanding educator
and graph theorist
10. Gregory Ligot Tangonan - for his research in the field of
communications technology

There are other outstanding Filipino scientists who are

recognized here and abroad for their outstanding contributions in
science:

 Caesar A. Saloma - an internationally renowned physicist

 Edgardo Gomez - famous scientist in marine science
 William Padolina- chemistry and president of National
Academy of Science and Technology (NAST)-Philippines •
 Angel Alcala - marine science

There are other scientists in the Philippines who were not

identified in the list. Yet, the Philippines still need more scientists
and engineers, and there is a need to support scientific research in
the country. The University of the Philippines-Los Baños is a science
paradise for agriculture, forestry. plant and animal science, and
veterinary science. It has produced numerous scientists and various
research in the fields mentioned. The University of the Philippines-
Visayas is also a national center for marine science, fisheries, and
other related sciences. The University of the Philippines-Manila is a
center of excellence and has produced many researchers, doctors,
health professionals, and scientists in the area of medical and public
health The University of the Philippines-Diliman also has established
a national science and engineering complex to develop more
research and produce more scientists and engineers in the country.
The government nust find ways to establish more research
laboratories and research institutes. There is also a need to find
ways on how their researches are disseminated to the public.

Many of these Filipino scientists are products of good school

science. It means they were taught and inspired by great teachers.
Their interests in science started to manifest during their childhood
years. Their natural environment ignited their curiosity to learn
more about the natural and physical environment. Schools and the
laboratories where they studied and worked nurtured this.

Many Filipino scientists, whether they are in the country or

abroad always excel in their job. The Filipino spirit in their souls has
never faded. They continue to bring honor to the country. They
make ordinary things in an extraordinary way. They are always at
par with other scientists in spite of the limited facilities we have
here in the country.

SUMMARY

This lesson discussed the influence of science and technology

in the development of the Philippines as a country. Even before the
time of Spanish colonization in the Philippines, various people and
communities already practiced science. They invented tools and
built structures, studied the medicinal uses of plants, observed
heavenly bodies to predict seasons and weather, and used
indigenous science in agriculture. These are considered indigenous
science, which is one of the foundations of modern science.

The growth of science and its development as a field in the

country is a hybrid of indigenous and foreign ideas. Spain and the
United States, being the former colonial masters of the country,
played an important role in building the foundation of science in the
Philippines. To further strengthen the science program in the
Philippines, the government establishes various science programs,
policies, and projects.

Through the years, many Filipinos were able to establish

themselves as scientists and science educators in various scientific
areas and fields. Invention and innovations were done by these
Filipino scientists. Finally, the demands of globalization, especially
the ASEAN economic agenda, prompted the Philippines to invest in
science and technology programs and projects.