The Country’s Cornerstone

“Obsessed with research!”

This was the statement of Senator Cynthia Villar, Department of Food and Agriculture Senate
committee, when it has asked for an allocation of finds for the National Corn Program. Senator Villar’s
statement elicited criticisms from people in the online community.

Undeniably, Senator Villar has downplayed the power of research. To make one realize how
valuable research is, one should look into the story of our National Scientist Dr. Ricardo Lantican.
According to Francisco (2018) in his published article in Flip Science, Dr. Lantican and his team
discovered that the T-cytoplasm trait was the cause of a corn disease called southern corn leaf blight.
However, the significance of his research was not highly valued. A decade later, the US corn was
infected with a fungus called Helminthosprium maydis causing the same disease which Dr. Lantican and
his team researched on. The corn disease resulted to a catastrophic loss and has decimated USA’s
production of corn in 1970. It had only been realized by USA and other countries in the world that a
solution to the problem was already found by Dr. lantican and his team way before the disaster
happened. If only the team’s effort was given attention, it would have saved the country’s corn crisis,
billions of dollars would have been saved, and the livelihood of the farmers had been spared.

Why should a country be “obsessed with research”? According to the Hungarian Nobel prize
winner Albert Szent-Gyorgi, we see everything through the same lens but researchers think of questions
that not everybody asks. Because of research, we have created a defense against the violent forces of
nature, scientists were able to predict the path of destructible storms, found cure for many diseases and
saved countless lives (Study International, 2016). While people are busy running their normal lives, our
researchers are busy solving human’s countless problems and desirous in improving everyday lives.

There is more. The importance of research is just not confined to the field of Science. Research,
also, has a great impact in our country’s economic growth and development. In Maharey’s speech at a
council meeting of the Royal Society in New Zealand, he stated that the country’s demand for excellence
in research will consequently be the basis of economic prosperity (Scoop Parliament, 2004).
Indisputably, the government of New Zealand has recognized the crucial role of research in the
formation of knowledge to sustain the country’s national development. The Philippines has also

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established the value of research in solving problems of national interest. According to Liwag (2020), the
Department of Science and Technology (DOST), joint with the academe and private sector, created the
Harmonized National Research and Development Agenda (HNRDA) 2017-2022. The agenda aims to
target 5 important sectors in the society namely: fundamental research, food production, marine and
raw materials, well-being, energy, developing technologies, and disaster risk reduction and adaptation
to climate change. The government firmly accepts that research contributes not only to social-
economic growth but to better life for all Filipinos as well. This validates the statement of Namanji &
Sskeyawa (2012) that research and development are inseparable. Without research there cannot be any
growth and development in a country.

The Philippines’ effort in valuing the culture of research brought about remarkable
improvement in the Global Innovation Index (GII) in year 2020. The GII informs a certain country the
detailed metrics about its innovation performance among 131 countries in the world and thereby serves
as a tool for action. Innovations on the field of education, political setting, infrastructure, and business
were included in the 80 indicators (WIPO, n.d.). According to the Department of Science and Technology
(2020), from rank 54 in 2019, the Philippines has now risen to rank 50 th among 131 countries. The
country has improved in the areas of groundworks for facilities, business sectors, graduates in
engineering and science, global exchange, and increased importation of commodities. The GII yearly
result published by the Cornell University established the collaboration of the different agencies in the
country to improve its innovation potential. Based on this GII 2020 result, DOST has seen research as
the catalyst of change. The power of science, technology and innovation can only be advanced through
excellent research.

The quest for innovation and development in the field of education is also highly significant.
Educational research plays a vital role in solving the dilemmas in the education sector. It targets
educational problems ranging from policies down to classroom implementation. Undoubtedly, research
has advanced knowledge in education. After improving the policies, finding ways to teach strategically
and improve learning, the end goal of research is for our children to be contributors to advancement of
the society. To harness the power of science, technology, and innovation, as well as to contribute to the
economic and educational development of the country, universities are seen as spearheads of research.
As mentioned by Maharey, some of the best brains are housed in universities. These universities must
be the front-runners in the quest for the country’s innovation and development (Scoop Parliament,
2004).

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 Notably, a vast number of excellent research have been produced by the brightest and the best
from universities, driven by the need to improve the society and everyday life. However, this is not the
case for some. On January 19, 2021, my former UP professor, Prof. Leezl Olegario, wrote an open letter
to the Department of Education (DepEd) and exposed that public school teachers buy ready-made
research papers simply for funding and promotion purposes. This post drew flak against the system from
the social media netizens (Olegario, 2021). This post has led to the writing of the article “ Teachers
bumibili ng ‘ready-made’ research para sa promotion?” (Santos, 2021). To which the Department of
Education (DepEd) has answered with an article, “DepEd: Di namin kukunsintihin ang anumang
pandaraya” (Soriano, 2021). To end this issue, DepEd Secretary, Leonor Magtolis Briones, has released a
statement that recognizes the power of research on the development of educational policies, hence,
any fraud on research will not be tolerated by the department(Santos, 2021). Regrettably, even some in
the academe have not understood the need to do research. The motivation was more personal than
professional.

No one can refute the power of research. A cornerstone is the first stone set on a foundation.
All other stones will be set upon this (Merriam Dictionary, 1999). Likewise, research is the cornerstone
of a country. Therefore, all the country’s efforts in improving the development of all its sectors as well
as the improvement of the lives of its people rely heavily on research. The need to emphasize the
importance of research and what they can do to the development of the country must be impressed in
all sectors of the government, the universities, and the academe.

Therefore, let us all be obsessed with research.

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References:

De Guzman, R. (2020). PH RANKS 50TH AMONG 131 ECONOMIES IN THE GLOBAL INNOVATION INDEX
2020. Department of Science and Technology. https://www.dost.gov.ph/knowledge-
resources/news/67-2020-news/1972-ph-ranks-50th-among-131-economies-in-the-global-innovation-
index-2020.html

Francisco, M. (2018). Dr. Ricardo M. Lantican: The Filipino Whose Research Changed Four Industries. Flip
Science. https://www.flipscience.ph/news/features-news/features/national-scientist-ricardo-lantican/?
fbclid=IwAR34vcfRYI6NRNBNbajnBwj9_HNiXp9DeA5rif5jHP4CzIQj8rADuKrFyME

Liwag, J. (2020). Does the Philippines value scientific research? CNN Philippines.
https://cnnphilippines.com/life/culture/2020/10/21/scientific-research-philippines-barriers.html

Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary (10th ed.). (1999). Merriam-Webster Incorporated.

https://www.merriam-webster.com/

Namanji S .& Ssekyewa C. (2012). The Role and Nature of research in Development.
file:///C:/Users/AORUS/Downloads/78945-Article%20Text-184664-1-10-20120713.pdf

Olegario, L. (2021). Dear DepEd Philippines. Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/LeezlCO/posts/10157518065536671

Santos, J. (2021). Teachers bumibili ng ‘ready-made’ research para sa promotion? Facebook.

https://thepost.net.ph/news/campus/teachers-bumibili-ng-ready-made-research-para-sa-promotion/?
fbclid=IwAR39RmqjdiEt0ZknBAEb9jS0X7zkE4fF37QYQ2dDg4L6G7mQAM0tT9YZ16k

Scoop Parliament (2014). The role of research in national development.

https://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0406/S00135/the-role-of-research-in-national-development.htm

Soriano, L. (2021). “DepEd: Di namin kukunsintihin ang anumang pandaraya” Facebook.

https://thepost.net.ph/news/nation/deped-di-namin-kukunsintihin-ang-anumang-pandaraya/?
fbclid=IwAR1MMvP6bCE6YpAisu8ATLh3FONz-lyYmvBAZ231WweewjCb5JLss_lEdsU

Study International (2016). How does research impact your everyday life?
https://www.studyinternational.com/news/how-does-research-impact-your-everyday-life/

World Intellectual Property Organization. (N.D.) Global Innovation Index (GII).

https://www.wipo.int/global_innovation_index/en/