Prometheus Bound: Reaction Paper

Eunice Mikaela Liwanag Resurreccion

BSA 1-2

Polytechnic University of the Philippines

Prometheus Bound is a youtube video clip conducted by Agham and Science and Society
Program of University of the Philippines. It tackles about Prometheus, a Titan of Greek
mythology, who gave the gift of fire and knowledge to mankind for them to thrive from their
desperate situation. Instead of gratification, his superior Zeus punished him with eternal
torment because of his great deed. Until now, I cannot seem to apprehend why someone who
desires to help the people would be unfairly punished by the ones who have power over others.

When we were tasked to watch this video, I was really skeptical of the reason why. I doubted its
purpose and wondered how this was related to our subject. I thought it was a random video
that is why I was amazed when I found out that it actually makes a lot of sense and it is even
made by our fellow Filipinos using our own language. The introduction part of the video caught
my attention and it did not even get into my mind how a Greek mythology character would
represent the current situation of Science and Technology in the Philippines. As an aspiring
engineer and biologist back then, I thought that being like them is easy and they are being
supported by the government. But this video made me realize that they are no different from
Prometheus, who suffered difficulty even if he only aimed to improve and develop the society
we live in.

We often hear and read that we are currently living in a High-tech society. But do we really
consider the Philippines as one? According to technopedia, High-tech, an abbreviation of high
technology is a term applied to economic and industrial sector emphasizing technological
innovation. The high-tech sector also involves a high concentration of workers in Science,
Technology, Engineering and Mathematics based on the study funded by the Workforce
Information Council.

Because of this information as well as the video, I realized that we do not deserve to be called a
High-tech country. Having modern technologies and infrastructures do not hide the fact that
most of these only came from other countries and were not developed by our own people.
Also, there are very few Filipino people who belong to the Science, Technology, Engineering,
and Mathematics sector. Out of one million Filipinos, only 150 aspired to become like them.
With this in mind, it is more heartbreaking to know that some of those very few people even
chooses to serve and work for other countries instead of their own.
On the other hand, I can not put all the blame to them because working in this country as a
scientist or engineer is very appalling. They face numerous problems which include insufficiency
and unavailability of proper equipment, weak education, low budget and lack of support from
the government and the community itself. I myself is guilty on this. I did not take seriously the
importance of research and as a science student before, I conducted research out of compliance
only not knowing that it was supposed to help and serve the people in our community.
Reflecting on this, if a student who has some knowledge about this gives little importance to the
essence of science and technology, how much more would a normal person?

As I continued watching the video, the more I realized how unpleasant the condition of Science
and Technology in the Philippines is. In Dr. Giovanni Tapang's own words, "Bansot at atrasado."
But as I learned from the video the deeper cause of all this, it enraged me and I felt so much
pity for our country. Our history is one of the main factors of the backward progress of Science
and Technology as well as our society in general. In simple terms, we were robbed by our
colonizers. Our own riches were stolen for their own benefit and left us with scraps. Our
economy and industry from agriculture, power, water, to mining were molded according to their
interest. In fact, most of the very few large industries we have here are even owned by foreign
businessmen.

It is very foolish that as an agricultural country, we are very import dependent and export-
oriented. Instead of availing our own natural resources, we let others maximize it. And Instead
of people benefiting from the impact of Science and Technology, huge companies utilize it not
to serve people but for their own profit. It makes me wonder how other countries can be very
progressive on their own. Why can't we be like them when in fact we have everything we need
to develop our country including our natural resources, workforce, skills, and intelligence. If only
we are self-reliant who does not need to depend on the dictation of foreign countries anymore.

This whole situation makes me feel very hopeless. I feel bad especially for those Filipinos who
shouldn't be suffering poverty just because some foreigners are using and tricking us at our own
expense. But I know that this feeling of hopelessness will not give us any good either. In the
myth, Prometheus did not remain chained and punsihed. Years later, he was freed by Hercules.
The concept of Hercules gave me hope that someday, our Scientists and Engineers like
Prometheus would also be freed from hardship in helping the people. As I was contemplating
about this, I became conscious of my own plans for the future. I would not want to be an
accountant who would help the businesses become richer. I now want to be someone like
Hercules who would stand by the side of Prometheus, our very own scientist and engineers, in
helping our society prosper and develop through Science and Technology.