HISTORY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY IN THE These Stone Age inhabitants, subsequently formed

PHILIPPINES settlements in the major Philippineis lands such as Sulu,

Mindanao (Zamboanga, and Davao), Negros, Samar, Luzon
Everything we see, touch, and experience-from the air we (Batangas, Laguna, Rizal, Bulacan and the Cagayan region).
breathe to the phones we use-is governed by the laws of
nature. By about 3,000 B.C., they were producing adzes,
ornaments of seashells and pottery of various designs. The
Science is our way of making sense of these laws, using manufacture of pottery subsequently became well
careful observation and systematic investigation to explain developed and flourished for about 2,000 years until it
how the world works. came into competition with imported Chinese porcelain.
Thus over time pottery making declined. What has
Scientific activity centers on one powerful goal: to discover
survived of this ancient technology is the lowest level, i.e.,
or produce new knowledge that expands our
the present manufacture of the ordinary cooking pot
understanding of the universe.
among several local communities.
But science doesn't stand alone. Technology takes that
Gradually, the early Filipinos learned to make metal tools
knowledge and turns it into something we can use-
and implements -- copper, gold, bronze and, later, iron.
something we can touch, build, or improve.
The Iron Age is considered to have lasted from the second
or third century B.C. to the tenth century A.D. Excavations
Whether it's a rice thresher in the province, a medical
of Philippine graves and work sites have yielded iron slags.
breakthrough, or a mobile app, modern technology is
science made practical.
By the first century A.D., Filipinos were weaving cotton,
smelting iron, making pottery and glass ornaments and
As we begin our journey through the history of science and
were also engaged in agriculture. Lowland rice was
technology-especially here in the Philippines-let's
cultivated in diked fields and in the interior mountain
remember: Every innovation began with a question. Every
regions as in the Cordillera, in terraced fields which utilized
discovery started with wonder. And as students, your role
spring water.
in this evolving story of science and technology may be
more important than you think.
Filipinos had also learned to build boats for the coastal
trade. By the tenth century A.D., this had become a highly
Precolonial Science and Technology
developed technology. In fact, the early Spanish
There is a very little reliable written information about chroniclers took note of the refined plank-built warship
Philippine society, culture and technology before the called caracoa.
arrival of the Spaniards in 1521.
These boats were well suited for inter-island trade raids.
How Can we trace the evidence of Science and Technology The Spaniards later utilized Filipino expertise in boat-
during this period? According to these sources, there were building and seamanship to fight the raiding Dutch,
numerous, scattered, thriving, relatively selfsufficient and Portuguese, Muslims and the Chinese pirate Limahong as
autonomous communities long before the Spaniards well as to build and man the galleons that sailed to
arrived. The early Filipinos had attained a generally simple Mexico.
level of technological development, compared with those
By the tenth century A.D., the inhabitants of Butuan were
of the Chinese and Japanese, but this was sufficient for
trading with Champa (Vietnam); those of Ma-i (Mindoro)
their needs at that period of time.
with China.
Archaeological findings indicate that modern men (homo
Chinese records which have now been translated contain a
sapiens) from the Asian mainland first came over-land and
lot of references to the Philippines. These indicate that
across narrow channels to live in Palawan and Batangas
regular trade relations between the two countries had
around 50,000 years ago. For about 40,000 years, they
been well established during the tenth to the fifteenth
made simple tools or weapons of stone flakes_but
centuries.
eventually developed techniques for sawing, drilling and
polishing hard stones.
Archaeological findings (in various parts of the
archipelago) of Chinese porcelains made during this period
support this contention. From the Sung (960-1278) and The house of Raja Soliman (which was burned down by
Yuan (1260-1368) Dynasties, there are descriptions of Spaniards) reportedly contained valuable articles of trade
trade with the Philippines, and from the Sung and Ming -- "money, copper, iron, porcelain, blankets, wax, cotton
(1360-1644) Dynasties there are notices of Filipino and wooden vats full of brandy."
missions to Peking.
Next to his house was a storehouse which contained:
The most frequently cited Chinese account in Philippine much iron and copper; as well as culverins and cannons
history textbooks is that of Chao Ju-Kua in 1225. He which had melted. Some small and large cannon had just
described the communities and trading activities in the begun. There were the clay and wax moulds, the largest of
islands of Ma-i (Mindoro) and San-hsu (literally three which was for a cannon seventeen feet long, resembling a
islands which present-day historians think refer to the culverin.
group of Palawan and Calamian Islands)
The Spanish colonizers noted that all over the islands,
The people of Ma-i and San-hsu traded beeswax, cotton, Filipinos were growing rice, vegetables and cotton; raising
true pearls, tortoise shell, medicinal betelnuts, yu-ta cloth swine, goats and fowls; making wine, vinegar and salt;
(probably jute or ramie?) and coconut heart mats for weaving cloth and producing beeswax and honey. The
Chinese porcelain, iron pots, lead fishnet sinkers, colored Filipinos were also mining gold in such places as Panay,
glass beads, iron needles and tin. Mindoro and Bicol. They wore colorful clothes, made their
own gold jewelry and even filled their teeth with gold.
The Filipinos in Mindanao and Sulu traded with Borneo, Their houses were made of wood or bamboo and nipa.
Malacca and parts of the Malay Peninsula. This trade
seems to have antedated those with the Chinese. By the They had their own system of writing and weights and
time the Spaniards reached the archipelago, these trade measures. Some communities had become renowned for
relations had been firmly established such that the alliance their plank-built boats. They had no calendar but counted
between the rulers of Manila and Brunei had become the years by moons and from one harvest to another.
strengthened by marriage.
There seemed to have been little pressure for invention
It was through these contacts that Hindu-Buddhist, Malay- and innovation among the early Filipinos. Why?
Sanskrit and Arab-Muslim Cultural and technological
influences spread to the Philippines. There have also been As governor Francisco de Sande observed in 1575, the
some references (by early travelers during the precolonial Filipinos do not understand any kind of work, unless it be
period) to trade relations between Japan and the to do something actually necessary -- such as to build their
Philippines. houses, which are made of stakes after their fashion; to
fish, according to their method; to row, and perform the
By the time the Spaniards came to colonize the Philippines duties of sailors; and to cultivate the land.
in 1565; they found many scattered, autonomous village
communities (called barangays) all over the archipelago Francisco de Sande - (1540-September 12, 1602) was the
third Spanish governor and captain-general of the
These communities exhibited uneven technological Philippines from August 25, 1575 to April 1580. He
development. Why? established the Royal City of Nueva Cáceres, now known
as Naga City.
Settlements along the coastal areas which had been
exposed to foreign trade and cultural contacts such as There seemed to have been little pressure for invention
Manila, Mindoro, Cebu, Southern Mindanao and Sulu, and innovation among the early Filipinos. Why?
seem to have attained a more sophisticated technology.
Self-Sufficient Lifestyle
In 1570, for example, the Spaniards found the town of
Mindoro "fortified by a stone wall over fourteen feet - Early Filipinos lived in small, independent communities
thick," and defended by armed Moros "bowmen, lancers, (barangays)
and some gunners, linstocks in hand." There were a "large
- Engaged mainly in farming, fishing, and barter trade
number of culverins" all along the hillside of the town.
They found Manila similarly defended by a palisade along
- Daily needs were met with available resources
its front with pieces of artillery at its gate.
Harmonious with Nature the lowest level of local government; i.e. as cabezas de
barangay.
- Culture focused on coexistence, not exploitation
The Filipinos naturally resisted reduccion as it took them
- Tools and techniques were practical and environment- away from their rice fields, the streams and the forests
based which were their traditional sources of livelihood and also
subjected them to the onerous economic exactions by the
No Urgent Threats or Pressures
colonial government.
- No large-scale wars, conquests, or extreme
Thus the first century of Spanish rule brought about
environmental demands
serious socio-economic dislocation and a decline in
agricultural production and traditional crafts in many
- Less need for complex technologies or defense systems
places.
Oral and Practical Knowledge System
The religious orders likewise played a major role in the
- Skills and knowledge passed down through generations establishment of the colonial educational system in the
Philippines. They also influenced the development of
- No formal institutions for scientific research or invention technology and promotion of scientific research.

Innovation Was Present -But Contextual Higher education was provided by schools set up by the
different religious orders in the urban centers, most of
- Boat-building, metallurgy, herbal medicine, weaving them in Manila.

- Innovation was need-based, not driven by competition or For example, the Jesuits founded in Cebu City the Colegio
industrialization de San Ildefonso (1595) and in Manila, the Colegio de San
Ignacio (1595), the Colegio de San Jose (1601) and the
DURING THE SPANISH REGIME
Ateneo de Manila (1859). The Dominicans had the Colegio
The Spaniards established schools, hospitals and started de San Juan de Letran (1640) in Manila.
scientific research and these had important consequences
Courses leading to the B.A. degree, Bachiller en Artes,
for the rise of the country's professions.
were given which by the nineteenth century included
But the direction and pace of development of science and science subjects such as physics, chemistry, natural history
technology were greatly shaped by the role of the religious and mathematics.
orders in the conquest and colonization of the archipelago
On the whole, however, higher education was pursued for
and by economic and trade adopted by the colonial
the priesthood or for clerical positions in the colonial
government.
administration. It was only during the latter part of the
Spanish conquest and the colonization of the archipelago nineteenth century that technical/vocational schools were
were greatly facilitated by the adoption of an essentially established by the Spaniards.
religious strategy which had earlier been successfully used
Throughout the Spanish regime, the royal and pontifical
in Latin America. Known as reduccion- the consolidation of
University of Santo Tomas remained as the highest
the far-flung, scattered barangay communities into fewer,
institution of learning. Run by the Dominicans, it was
larger and more compact settlements within the hearing
established as a college in 1611 by Fray Miguel de
distance of the church bells.
Benavides.
The net result of reduccion was the creation of towns and
Throughout the Spanish regime, the royal and pontifical
the foundation of the present system of local government.
University of Santo Tomas remained as the highest
The precolonial ruling class, the datus and their hereditary institution of learning. Run by the Dominicans, it was
successors, were adopted by the Spanish colonial established as a college in 1611 by Fray Miguel de
government into this new system to serve as the heads of Benavides.

-theology, philosophy and humanities

- jurisprudence and canonical law was established in 18th Higher education during the Spanish regime was generally
century viewed with suspicion and feared by the colonial
authorities as encouraging conspiracy and rebellion among
-the schools of medicine and pharmacy were opened in the native Filipinos. For this reason, only the more daring
1871. and persevering students were able to undertake
advanced studies.
- From 1871 to 1886, the University of Santo Tomas
granted the degree of Licenciado en Medicina to 62 There was little or no training in scientific research.
graduates.
Sir John Bowring, the British Governor of Hongkong who
-For the doctorate degree in medicine, at least an made an official visit to the Philippines in the 1850s wrote:
additional year of study was required at the Universidad
Central de Madrid in Spain Public instruction is in an unsatisfactory state in the
Philippines--the provisions are little changed from those of
The study of pharmacy consisted of a preparatory course the monkish ages.
with subjects in natural history and general chemistry and
five years of studies in subjects such as pharmaceutical In the University of Santo Tomas... no attention is given to
operations at the school of pharmacy. the natural sciences... nor have any of the educational
reforms which have penetrated most of the colleges of
At the end of this period of the degree of Bachiller en Europe and America found their way to the Philippines.
Farmacia was granted. The degree of licentiate in
pharmacy, which was equivalent to a master's degree, was At the start of the American regime, a German physician of
granted after two years of practice in a pharmacy, one of Manila submitted a report to the authorities on the
which could be taken simultaneously with the academic conditions at UST's medical college.
courses after the second year course of study.
Lack of library facilities, the use of outdated textbooks
In 1876, the university granted the bachelor's degree in (some published in 1845), that no female cadaver had ever
pharmacy to its first six graduates in the school of been dissected and the anatomy course was a "farce", that
pharmacy. Among them was Leon Ma. Guerrero, who is most graduates "never had attended even one case of
usually referred to as the "Father of Philippine Pharmacy" confinement or seen a case of laparotomy" and that
because of his extensive work on the medicinal plants of bacteriology had been introduced only since the American
the Philippines and their uses. occupation and "was still taught without microscopes!"

There were no schools offering engineering at that time. A With the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 and the
Nautical School was created on 1 January 1820 which consequent ease in travel and communications that it
offered a four-year course of study (for the profession of brought about, the liberal ideas and scientific knowledge
pilot of merchant marine) that included subjects as of the West also reached the Philippines.
arithmetic, algebra, geometry, trigonometry, physics,
hydrography, meteorology, navigation and pilotage. A - Jose Rizal who was able to pursue studies in Medicine
School of Commercial Accounting and a School of French and specialize in ophthalmology in Spain and Germany.
and English Languages were established in 1839.
- Graciano Apacible who studied medicine in Madrid
- In 1887, the Manila School of Agriculture was created by
- Antonio Luna who obtained his Ph.D. in pharmacy in
royal decree.
Madrid and later worked with renowned scientists in
The School was designed to provide theoretical and Ghent and Paris;
practical education of skilled farmers and overseers and to
- Jose Alejandrino who took up engineering in Belgium,
promote agricultural development in the Philippines by
and others. It was this group of students which set up the
means of observation, experiment and investigation.
Propaganda Movement in Europe that eventually led to
- Agricultural stations were also established in Isabela, the Philippine revolution against Spain.
Ilocos, Albay, Cebu, Iloilo, Leyte and parts of Mindanao.
By the second half of the nineteenth century, studies of - On 21 January 1901, the Philippine Commission, which
infectious diseases such as smallpox, cholera, bubonic acted as the executive and legislative body for the
plague, dysentery, leprosy and malaria were intensified Philippines until 1907, promulgated Act No. 74 creating a
with the participation of graduates of medicine and Department of Public Instruction in the Philippines.
pharmacy from UST. At this time, native Filipinos began to
participate in scientific research. - This was followed by the setting up of a Philippine
Normal School to train Filipino teachers.
In 1887, the Laboratorio Municipal de Ciudad de Manila
was created by a royal decree. Its main functions were to . Secondary schools were opened after a further
conduct biochemical analyses for public health and to enactment of the Philippine in Commission in 1902.
undertake specimen examinations for clinical and medico-
- The Philippine Medical School was established in 1905
legal cases. It had a publication called Cronica de Ciencias
and was followed by other professional and technical
Medicas de Filipinas showing scientific studies being done
schools
during that time
- The University of the Philippines was created on 18 June
There was very little development in Philippine agriculture
1908 by Act of the Philippine Legislature.
and industry during the first two centuries of Spanish rule.
This was largely due to the dependence of the Spanish
- Among the first colleges to be opened were the College
colonizers on the profits from the Galleon or Manila-
of Agriculture in Los Baños, Laguna in 1909, the Colleges of
Acapulco trade, which lasted from 1565 to 1813.
Liberal Arts, Engineering and Veterinary Medicine in 1910
and the College of Law in 1911.
The Filipinos hardly benefited from the Galleon trade.
- By 1911, the University had an enrollment of 1,400
Meteorological studies were promoted by Jesuits who
students, Four Years later, its enrollment had almost
founded the Manila Observatory in 1865. The Observatory
doubled (to 2,398) and the University included two new
collected and made available typhoon and climatological
units, a School of Pharmacy and a Graduate School of
observations. These observations grew in number and
Tropical Medicine and Public Health.
importance so that by 1879, it became possible for Fr.
Federico Faura to issue the first public typhoon warning.
- In 1916, the School of Forestry and Conservatory of
Music were established; and in 1918, the College of
At the end of the Spanish regime, the Philippines had
Education was opened.
evolved into a primary agricultural exporting economy.
Progress in agriculture had been made possible by some
- In 1903, the Philippine commission passed an Act to
government support for research and education in this
finance the sending of 135 boys and girls of high school
field.
age to the United States to be educated as teachers,
engineers, physicians and lawyers.
Science and Technology during the First Republic
- Before 1910, the American colonial government
There was very little development in science and
encouraged young men and women to get higher
technology during the short-lived Philippine Republic
professional education as much as possible in American
(1898-1900). The government took steps to establish a
colleges.
secular educational system by a decree of 19 October
1898; it created the Universidad Literaria de Filipinas.
- The American colonial authorities organized other offices
which, by the nature of their operations, contributed
Courses offered include law, medicine, surgery, pharmacy
further to the growth of scientific research.
and notary public.
- Weather Bureau (1901),
Developments in Science and Technology During the
American Regime
- Board (later Bureau) of Health (1898),
- The Americans introduced a system of secularized public
-Bureau of Mines (1900)
school education as soon as civil government was set up in
the islands - Bureau of Forestry (1900),
- Bureau of Agriculture (1901), science agencies (such as the Bureaus of Science, Animal
Industry and Plant Industry) for commercial production.
- Bureau of Coast and Geodetic Survey (1905),
The Commonwealth government was unable to achieve its
- Bureau of Plant Industry (1929) and; goal of economic self-reliance.

- Bureau of Animal Industry (1929) This was primarily because foreign trade and tariff policies
remained under the control of the American government.
- An Act in 1933 creating the National Research Council of
the Philippine Islands (NRCP) was issued. Free trade relations also continued and thus perpetuated
the preferential treatment of exports of agricultural raw
- While Filipinos were provided opportunities for higher
materials.
education in the sciences and engineering, the economy
remained basically agricultural. The Pacific War broke out in 1941 and the Philippines was
occupied by Japanese troops.
- To a great extent, Philippine economic development was
determined by free trade relations established in 1909 Science and Technology since Independence
between the Philippines and the United States, and these
continued long after independence was achieved in 1946. The underlying pattern of education and training of
scientists, engineers and physicians established during the
Science and Technology During the Commonwealth America regime, as well as the direction of government
Period support for scientific research and development, has
basically remained unchanged since independence in
The Constitution acknowledged the importance of
1946.
promoting scientific development for the economic
development of the country by incorporating a provision State support for education continues to be concentrated
(Article XIII, Section 4) declaring that "The State shall at the elementary school level; private colleges and
promote scientific research and invention, Arts and Letters universities provide education for the majority of the
shall be under its patronage..." collegiate population.

By 1936, there were 425 private schools recognized by the On the whole, there has been little innovation in the
government, 64 of which were institutions at the College education and training of scientists and engineers since
level and 7 were universities. independence in 1946.

These were Centro Escolar University, Far Eastern This is in part due to the conservative nature of self-
University, National University, Philippine Women's regulation by the professional associations.
University, Silliman University, University of Manila and
the University of Santo Tomas. Together with the Because of specialized training, vertical organization by
University of the Philippines these had a total of 19,575 disciplines and lack of liaison between professions,
college students in all universities in the country. professional associations have been unable to perceive the
dynamic relationship between science, technology and
Several government corporations were reorganized and society and the relevance of their training to Philippine
new ones were created to perform such varied functions conditions.
as the exploitation and development of natural resources
(e.g., the National Power Corporation); In 1957, a report was submitted to the President pointing
out the deterioration of Philippine science since the early
The development and promotion of local industries (such years of the American regime.
as the National Development Company (NDC) and its
subsidiaries, the National Abaca and Other Fibers The report analyzed the causes of this decline the lack of
Corporation); promotion of agricultural production and government support; death of scientists of high training
marketing; and ability; low morale of scientists and a lack of public
awareness of Science.
The NDC was especially mandated to undertake the
development of successful researches of government
It made several recommendations towards a long-range - Philippine Council for Agriculture and Resources Research
development of science in the country. (PCARR).

Congress enacted the Science Act of 1958. The expanding number of science agencies has given rise
to a demand for high caliber scientists and engineers to
REPUBLIC ACT No. 2067 AN ACT TO INTEGRATE, undertake research and staff in universities and colleges.
COORDINATE, AND INTENSIFY SCIENTIFIC AND
TECHNOLOGICAL RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT AND TO In March 23, 1983, Executive Order No. 889 was issued by
FOSTER INVENTION; TO PROVIDE FUNDS THEREFOR; AND the President which provided for the establishment of a
FOR OTHER PURPOSES. national network of centers of excellence in basic sciences.

The Science Act created the National Science Development As a consequence, six new institutes were created: The
Board (NSDB) to formulate policies for the development of National Institutes of Physics, Geological Sciences, Natural
science and coordinate the work of science agencies. Sciences Research, Chemistry, Biology and Mathematical
Sciences.
The Act also created the Philippine Atomic Energy
Commission (PAEC) and the National Institute of Science
and Technology (NIST) and placed these, along with the
NRCP, under the NSDB.

The Science Act created the National Science Development

Board (NSDB) to formulate policies for the development of
science and coordinate the work of science agencies.

The Act also created the Philippine Atomic Energy

Commission (PAEC) and the National Institute of Science
and Technology (NIST) and placed these, along with the
NRCP, under the NSDB.

In the 1960s additional science agencies were created by

law which thereby expanded NSDB's organization and
functions.

- These were the Philippine Inventors Commission (1964),

- Philippine Coconut Research Institute (1964),

- Philippine Textile Research Institute (1967), and

- Forest Products Research and

- Industries Development Commission (1969).

Several existing agencies were also attached to NSDB for

policy coordination

- the NRCP,

- Metals Industry Research and Development Center

(MIRDC),

- the SFP,

- Philippine Science High School (PSHS) and