THE Department of Science and Technology (DOST) will spend P4.811 billion for 21 science, technology and innovation (STI) initiatives this year in its continuing efforts to “bring science to the people.”
Dubbed the “Big 21 in 2021,” the “responsive and high-impact science and technology (S&T) programs” were presented by Science Secretary Fortunato T. de la Peña online on September 7.
The 21 projects are grouped into six categories, namely, 1) new state-of-the-art facilities; 2) research and development (R&D) programs, products and niche centers; 3) initiatives to address Covid-19; 4) productivity and empowerment achievers; 5) enhancing human resource development and management; and 6) governance milestones.
The biggest allocation of P1.244 billion will fund the “early warning systems for the enhanced weather and flood forecasting” program of the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (DOST-Pagasa).
The modernization program for Pagasa this year includes the “operation of three latest Doppler radars, the opening of four flood forecasting and monitoring centers, and the use of high-frequency radars in the coastal areas,” according to de la Peña.
“We continue this tradition of sharing information on our projects,” de la Peña said, explaining that the department came up with the choices based on the “different suggestions from our agencies and regional offices.”
“If in 2020 DOST focused on the immediate needs of Filipinos to detect and protect each one of us against Covid-19, today we have channeled our efforts to retool the country, given the escalating health concerns, businesses’ new attitude toward digitization and the demands of running the country in a contactless environment,” DOST Undersecretary for Research and Development Dr. Rowena Cristina L. Guevara said in her message during the program.
Meanwhile, DOST Undersecretary for Scientific and Technical Services Dr. Renato U. Solidum, Jr. said, “Amid the chaos brought by the global pandemic and other natural disasters, like the rage of Taal Volcano, the storms and the flooding, the importance of STI has been more evident in the way we confront these challenges,” Solidum said.
State-of-the-art facilities
THE improved forecasting and early warning systems by Pagasa is one of the seven “new state-of-the-art facilities” presented during the program, with the other six projects geared primarily to support industries.
“The DOST system, as a family of agencies, is an S&T enterprise, so we realized from the beginning of our term in 2016 that we need facilities to carry out our vision better and achieve the goals of inclusive and sustainable development and competitiveness,” de la Peña said.
DOST said that through the Early Warning Systems and Observation Stations, Pagasa will obtain “accurate and efficient weather data and information” to help the national and local governments have “efficient disaster risk reduction and management programs, and effective responses to keep vulnerable communities safer during severe weather conditions.”
On the other hand, the Metals Industry Research and Development Center (DOST-MIRDC) will oversee the operations of Advanced Manufacturing Center (AMCen) and Advanced Mechatronics, Robotics and Industrial Automation Laboratory (Amerial).
MIRDC will also establish Metals and Engineering Innovation Centers (MEICs) in the Cordillera Administrative Region and Regions I, II, III and X.
Launched in June, AMCen has started training the next generation of manufacturing engineers as it currently collaborates with seven partners in the technology sector, three in the industry and 11 in the academe and other government institutions through DOST’s regional offices.
With P296.5 million in funding, AMCen will enhance the additive manufacturing capabilities of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), and the academe with its R&D on innovative 3D printing technologies, processes and materials.
Amerial, with a budget of P40.9 million, will help increase industrial productivity by providing technical capacity building and developments in automation to support the shift to automation of local manufacturers.
State universities and colleges hosting MEICs, through its funding of P50.7 million, will have upgraded capabilities in implementing R&D and prototyping to serve the industries in their regions.
The Industrial Technology Development Institute (DOST-ITDI) will implement the programs of the Simulation Packaging Testing Laboratory (SPTL) and Green Packaging Laboratory (GPL) and establish the Biosafety Level 2+ laboratory for the Virology Science and Technology Institute of the Philippines (VIP) through its Environment and Biotechnology Division.
With a funding of P85.3 million, the SPTL will help reduce food loss and spoilage of horticultural products in the supply chain by resolving the problem of damage during delivery of goods, while the GPL will conduct collaborative R&D on green and sustainable packaging.
The Biosafety Level 2+ laboratory, with a budget of P5 million, will safely and securely implement the country’s vaccine development initiatives and infectious diseases research program by adhering to international biosafety and biosecurity standards.
The facility, with a budget of P12.5 million, is the Innovative Tissue Culture Laboratory (iLAB) for ornamental plants in Guiguinto, Bulacan. The Municipal Agriculture Office of Guiguinto will implement iLAB to help farmers propagate ornamental plants with highly desirable features, among other benefits. The laboratory will be fully operational by December this year.
Research and development
First of two health and nutrition programs under the “R&D programs, products and niche research centers” is the Nutritional Genomics Program of the Nutritional Biochemistry Section of the Food and Nutrition Research Institute (DOST-FNRI).
With a P20.7 million budget, it will “contribute to the growing knowledge and capability on nutritional genomics that will lead to omics-based methods to predict disease susceptibility, early detection of nutritional deficiency and excess and accurate identification of nutrition-related diseases and the impact of dietary signals in the genome.”
Together with 28 institutions, the Philippine Council for Health Research and Development (DOST-PCHRD) is implementing the Tuklas Lunas Program to discover and develop “safe, effective, accessible health products derived from Philippine biodiversity.”
With P222.5 million in funding in 2020, the program is supporting 62 projects from 23 institutions.
The Saribuhay Series covers R&D programs on natural resources, the first of which is the DOST Biodiversity S&T Program under the Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development (DOST-PCAARRD).
With P2 million funding, the S&T specialized documentary series on television and online platforms will serve as a communication tool to educate Filipinos on the importance of environmental protection and conservation.
Its other program is the Terrestrial Biodiversity S&T Program, a nationwide resource assessment of flora and fauna undertaken by the Cebu Technological University and Central Mindanao University with a combined funding of P39.86 million.
The Marine Biodiversity R&D Program, composed of seven projects with a total funding of P126 million, is being undertaken by the University of the Philippines (UP) Diliman, UP-Marine Science Institute, UP Los Baños, UP-National Institute of Geological Science; UP Mindanao, UP Visayas, Davao del Norte State College, Western Philippines University, De La Salle University (DLSU), Samar State University and University of San Carlos.
With P64.1 million total funding, the implementors of the Indigenous Plants and Native Animals Biodiversity S&T Program are UP Los Baños (plants); Marinduque State University (native animals); Bureau of Animal Industry-National Swine and Poultry R&D Center; Isabela State University; Benguet State University; Kalinga State University; and Eastern Samar State University.
On S&T Products-Disaster Preparedness, the SAM PH Atlas, or the Spectral Acceleration Maps of the Philippines, initiated by the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (DOST-Phivolcs) provides “science-based probabilistic information tool for structural engineers and building designers as an informed basis in developing structural design for essential, critical, and high-risk structures that are designed to withstand an intensity VIII earthquake or stronger. Its project cost is P1.13 million.
Ten programs were recently approved under the Niche Centers in the Region (Nicer) for R&Dwith a total funding of P718.6 million.
“The Nicer for R&D, a sub-program of Science for Change Program, is aimed at promoting inclusive growth that will benefit the research community and industry by increasing the number of developed and transferred technologies,” Guevara said.
The first five are the 1) R&D Center for Advanced Batteries of the Technological Institute of the Philippines and UP Diliman; 2) Center for Environmental Technologies and Compliance of the Polytechnic University of the Philippines Manila, Adamson University and UP Diliman; 3) Coastal Engineering Research Center of Mariano Marcos State University, UP and Don Mariano Marcos Memorial State University; 4) Smart Water Infrastructure and Management R&D Center of Isabela State University, Cagayan State University and Quirino State University; and 5) Center for Lakes Sustainable Development of Laguna State Polytechnic University and UP Diliman.
The rest include the 6) Center for Sustainable Polymers R&D of Mindanao State University-Iligan Institute of Technology; 7) Center for Vector Diseases of Public Health of DLSU Laguna Campus and UP Diliman; 8) Integrated Protein Research and Development: A Biotechnology Facility for Health of Ateneo de Manila University; (9) Biomaterials for Diagnostics and Therapeutics R&D Center of Angeles University; and 10) NeuRoTech by DLSU-Institute of Biomedical Engineering and Health Technologies, Neurorobotics Technology Program of DLSU Manila.
Addressing Covid-19
The top three major Covid-19 initiativesarestudies being undertaken by various agencies of DOST and their institutional partners.
Thestudy onthe Clinical Characteristics and Transmission Patterns of Covid-19 Confirmed Cases and their Contacts in the Philippines of DOST-PCHRD with a funding of P9.74 million will “provide help to the Department of Health [DOH] on their guidelines for case isolation, contact tracing and disease control prevention by understanding the transmission of Covid-19 and prevent further spread of the disease.”
Three Clinical trials on Lagundi, Tawa-tawa and Virgin Coconut Oil (VCO) as treatment or adjunctive therapy against Covid-19 are being undertaken.
The implementors are the Institute of Herbal Medicine, National Institutes of Health, UP Manila (Lagundi) with P5.45 million funding; UP Visayas (Tawa-tawa) with P5.6 million budget; and UP Manila and DOST-FNRI for VCO with funding of P4.82 million.
The study on Seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 and Determination of Viral Neutralization Characteristics of Antibodies Detected Communities in the Philippines of the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine has P32.88 million funding.
The results of the study will help determine the pre- or post-Covid-19 vaccination serostatus (the presence or absence of detectable antibodies against a specific antigen, as measured by a blood test) of individuals in the community that would potentially impact disease prevention and control operations, as well as vaccine response monitoring.
With a budget of P1.7 million, the DOST Regional Office VI is implementing the Safe, Swift, and Smart Passage System (S-Pass) to “efficiently manage local travelers in the country during the prevailing travel restrictions in various provinces and cities.”
The BreathSim: The DOST Breathing Simulator of the Advanced Science and Technology Institute and Electronics Industries Association of the Philippines Inc. has allowed experts from DOST and DOH to test various ventilators, respirators, and other respiratory devices to ensure quality and performance when distributed to hospitals and health care facilities during pandemic. The ongoing program received P2.7 million in additional funding.
Productivity and empowerment
Two major programs related to livelihood and community empowerment are being implemented by DOST’s regional offices.
The Making MSMEs Industry-Ready program,with a funding of P987.84 million, allows “MSME beneficiaries acquire appropriate technologies, capability building, technical trainings, consultancy, technical advisory services, product development, calibration, testing, information system, and technology that will enable them to transform into “Smart SMEs.”
This is being implemented through the Small Enterprises Technology Upgrading Program (Setup) 4.0, which is aligned with Industry 4.0 technologies like Internet of things, big data analytics, augmented reality, artificial intelligence and robotics, among others.
On the other hand, the Empowering 21 Communities: Adoption of ST4K* Strategy in Response to the Call of the Times is part of DOST’s Community Empowerment through Science and Technology (CEST) program, which brings “dramatic changes to people’s lives and their livelihood.”
Human resources
The DOST Office of the Undersecretary for Research and Development is implementing the S&T Fellows Program for R&D with a total funding of P800.45 million
The program enhances the “capabilities of research and development and scientific and technical services in all research and development institutes and councils of the DOST by implementing initiatives to strengthen human resources capabilities, aimed at increasing the number of S&T experts and innovators in the country.”
For the Getting Filipinos Ready for Emerging Technologies through Online Learning Courses being implemented by the DOST-Caraga with a budget of P3.5 million, its “beneficiaries learn and earn certificates for free from online courses of prestigious schools and organizations.”
Governance milestones
Under this category are the STI Foresight: Development of a 30-year Strategic Plan of the National Academy of Science and Technology, Philippines with a budget of P7.13 million; and the Science for the People (SFTP) Book Series 2021, with funding of P28.4 million, is being implemented by CAN Property Holdings LTD. Corp. and various agencies and councils of DOST.
The STI Foresight compendium is a “valuable resource for policymakers, industry leaders, legislators, local government units, and public/private institutions and companies needing an STI framework and 30-year strategic plan by integrating transformative thinking, planning and monitoring, and inclusive implementation toward an STI supported and encultured Philippines.”
On the other hand, the SFTP Book Series is helping “improve science consciousness, promote awareness on the impact, potential of STI in the everyday lives of Filipinos through the creation of printed content; spark interest, be a conduit in inspiring Filipinos to embrace science, technology and innovation; and serve as a source of information on the projects under the DOST.”