Factors Affecting Science and Technology in the Philippines

The size of economy based on GDP or Gross Domestic Product which is a monetary
measure of the market value of all the final products or services produced by the country in a
period of time, Philippines ranked 3rd with $304 billion among ASEAN countries following the
highest economic size of $932 billion of Indonesia who ranked 1st and $406 billion of Thailand
ranked 2nd, reported by the World Bank 2016. According to the UN Economic and Social
Commission for Asia and the Pacific's Asia-Pacific Countries with Special Needs Development
Report 2017 that when it comes to access to physical infrastructures Philippines ranked 5th
among ASEAN countries with a score of .336 this presents the countries availability, quality and
type of infrastructure investment covering transport, water supply, energy, information and
communication. While in terms of corruption Philippines ranked 5th again among ASEAN
countries Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index 2016.

Not only the economic status affecting the state of science and technology in the
Philippines, but also certain cultures that still remains to be a hindrance in the improvement of
science and technology in the country. Conservatism in the Philippines is one reason for the
hindrance of science and technology in the country. Parents mostly dictates their children on
what profession they would take when they grow up; and it is usually those of what they see in
media such as engineers, police officers, doctors, lawyers, etc. leading the children to have
mindsets to achieve goals presented by parents. A career as a scientist is not mostly a career
choice for many of the Filipinos due to the fact that most Filipino students are still weak in the
field of Mathematics and Science according to the results of the Third international Mathematics
and Science Study-Repeat (TIMSS-R) wherein the Philippines were ranked 36th in both science
and mathematics tests out of a field of 38 countries. That is one of the reasons why Filipinos are
discouraged to be scientists, especially in the modern society. Another reason is the smart-
shaming and the Pinoy culture of anti-intellectualism.

Anti-intellectualism is rampant among Filipinos wherein they see high intelligence as a negative
trait. The best example of this would be Philippine politics. When you look at the elections
starting at the later end of the 20th century, Filipinos start seeing the word "intellectual" as an
insult rather than a quality that you look for in public servants. Filipinos see candidates
downplaying their academic and career achievements to appeal to the masses. If we look back in
the 1992 elections, when Senator Miriam Santiago was running against Fidel V Ramos, the
rumor mills often implied that there was a direct correlation between her unstable behavior and
her high intelligence. On the other end of the spectrum, Filipinos see Former President Erap
Estrada arrogantly celebrating the fact that he was kicked out of school. Senator Lito Lapid
regularly cites his ignorance and has basically built a political career around it. Filipinos also
resort to smart shaming which they passively aggressively insult someone who is "too smart" for
their common taste. They say things such as ‘Masyado ka naman pilospo.’ ‘Teka lang, dahan
dahan, na-nosebleed ako sa iyo.’ ‘Paki-bagal lang, bobo lang po kasi.’

Another factor that affects the hindrance of the development of science and technology in
the Philippines is the lack of scientists. It was discovered that the country only has 189 scientists
per million, far from the ideal figure. There are about 110 million Filipinos based on the latest
census. The United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (Unesco) suggests
a ratio of 380 scientists per every million population; and According to Senator Paulo Benigno
"Bam" Aquino, current chair of the Senate committee on science and technology, the Philippines
lack 19,000 scientists. Data from the Senate committee shows that the country pales in
comparison with other countries in terms of the number of scientists in the government and
private sector. According to the committee, South Korea and the US have 5,300 and 3,500
scientists per million, respectively. In Southeast Asia, Malaysia has 2,000 scientists per million –
way higher than the Philippines' 189 per million.

And in terms of Science and Technology, we can really say that the Philippines is behind
compared to the other growing ASEAN Countries like Singapore and Malaysia. Our country was
once called the “Rising Tiger Country of Asia” by some, and there were some who believed that
we have what it takes to stand out amongst the ASEAN countries. But did we maintain that title?
Do we really deserve to be called as one of the fastest growing countries here in the Southeast
Asia? Just by looking at the various problems that we are currently facing, one can really tell that
we still lack in terms of Science and Technology. Like the rice shortage, if only we can produce
ample amount of rice with the help of technology like in Japan, we will surely solve this in no
time. Most common problem can also be seen in our internet connection. Philippines owns one if
the slowest internet connections not just in Asia but in the whole World. If we look at it closely,
we have great plans slated for the future, and we have a clear vision of what we want to have like
the ones stated in the “National Science Technology Plan 2002-2020.” We do not lack in the
resources either, so what is really the problem? First, is the lack of continuity when it comes to
implementing steps in developing Science and Technology here in our country. In terms of
technological advancements, we are slow to adapt compared to countries like Singapore and
Japan. We make progress, but this progress is not enough to cover the needs not just by those
who are privileged but also those who are quite in need. The best example of this is our
infrastructure. When it comes to building new structures here in the Philippines, it usually takes a
lot of time, and it also becomes a problem for us like traffic jams, road closures, etc. If we have
the right technological tools and equipment for building infrastructure, we can lessen the time of
construction and it will surely benefit the people like us students who usually commute everyday
just to get to school. Second, our government does not really support our S&T projects. It is
given that they allot a big amount of money in order for the Department of Science and
Technology (DOST) to come up with projects that will be helpful for us in the future, but if we
compare it to the budget of the other booming countries, it is still relatively small. Lastly, those
Filipinos who carry the right ability for Science and Technology tend to choose other countries.
We have a lot of great scientists who are well-equipped to help us in this drought. But because of
the lack of support from the National Government, they choose to serve other countries. If only
our government can support our R&D projects more, who knows where we will be right now.
Maybe we are toe to toe with Singapore and Japan, maybe we will not experience the traffic jams
that definitely seem to be a part of our everyday lives already, and maybe we can deal with
National Issues more effective and efficient.

Overall, the state of Science and Technology here in our country is quite negative.
Because we are still experiencing the things that should have been solved years ago, and it looks
like it will be present in the upcoming years. But we still have a chance to turn this around; we
just need to be more eager to discover new things and be more aggressive when it comes to
learning each and every day. And in order for the Philippines to have a fruitful and meaningful
scientific and technological advancement and improvement, the government should start the first
move by first, reforming the procurement process to give some leeway for technology transfer,
promoting science culture in the education system as early as possible, more funding should be
devoted to the research and development, a safe space for any scientist to conduct science, be it
in the basic, applied, or social sciences, and finally, there should be a system that would
encourage more collaboration among the scientific community, across different institutions and
fields of studies. By doing so, not only will the Philippines be globally competitive in science
and technology, but also for the immediate improvement and flourish of the countries state of
science and technology for the betterment of its society.

Assignment

In

Science and Technology

Group 1

Letran, John Leonardo

Malicay, Apple

Ocular, Andre

Paronda, Christel

Terre, Kristine.