Evolution of Science and Technology in the Philippines

Hello everyone, welcome back to another fruitful discussion under the subject Science, Technology, and Society. Today we'll be focusing mainly on science, technology, and nation building, meaning we'll be discussing how science and technology evolved and developed in our country. And we'll be focusing on several periods, some important scientists, and some policies that helped shape science and technology in our country. So let's begin with the pre-colonial period. Now, before the arrival of the Spaniards, Filipinos, early Filipinos are already engaged with trade or in trade with different cultures, particularly the Chinese, the Indonesians, and the Japanese. Now, early Filipinos are actually using, we're actually using science and technology as a proof is the creation of the Banaue Rice Dario says, you know, As we already know, banalized terraces was included before in the eight wonders of the world because of its sophistication and pristine and precise engineering. So, you know, before the arrival of the Spaniards, the Americans and the Japanese, our ancestors are already using science and technology in a practical usage. Let's say, for example. They are applying science and technology when they are farming, when they are hunting for food, when they're doing household chores, and when they are educating their children. You know, during the pre-colonial period, children are educated in a vocational way. Because, you know, like, for example, fathers will teach younger, their sons, on how to do farming work, on how to hunt for food. And they would pass on some of their responsibilities to them so that when they grow up, they'll become responsible husband and responsible members of the community. And the same goes to women. Mothers teach their daughters how to do household chores, how to prepare food, and how to take care for their siblings. So that's how they use science and technology. Now, please take note that in the early... times during the pre-colonial period, the term is not actually strictly science itself, but it's actually known as indigenous science. Now, according to Pawilan and Sadisi, now, indigenous science includes complex arrays of knowledge, expertise, practices, and representations derived from traditional knowledge and practices that guide human societies. Now, if you look at this diagram, this is actually a simple framework created by Pawilan. Now, indigenous science uses, of course, science process and skills. Remember, when we talk about science, it involves a step-by-step process. It involves procedures. Now, our ancestors are guided by their culture and values. So they actually make use of their traditions and their belief. And that's actually what the context of indigenous science is. On top of that, indigenous science is composed of... traditional knowledge and this has been passed on from generation to generation. Now if you look at here there are several definitions of indigenous science. As I've mentioned, Pawilen says that indigenous science is more of a traditional knowledge and practice. Well Ogawa mentioned that indigenous science is collectively lived in and experienced by the people of a given culture. So it's more of the practical usage of the daily life or the use of science in their daily life. So Cahete, on the other hand, says that it includes everything from metaphysics to philosophy and various practical technologies practiced by indigenous people, both past and present. Remember, when we talk about technology, we talk about tools. And. Even in the early times, our ancestors made use of several tools, let's say for farming, for hunting fish, or for hunting food, let's just say, and for doing household chores. Even for cooking, they actually create several tools and equipment that could help them make their life better. So that's indigenous science. According to Yacarino, science is a part of culture and how science is a part of culture and how it is done. largely depends on the cultural practice of the people. So the application of indigenous science mainly depends on what ethnic group they belong, which tribe they belong, and the practices they do. or the practices they have in their community. And all of those affect the application and their concept of what science is. Now, Johnston said that indigenous science refers to indigenous beliefs develop desirable values that are relevant or consistent to scientific attitudes. So what are these desirable values that Johnston is talking about? The first one is motivating attitudes. The next one is cooperating attitudes. We have practical attitudes and reflective attitudes. So you see, motivating attitudes, of course, as I've mentioned earlier, parents keep on motivating their children to adopt what they are doing so that they could pass it from generation to generation. And since they belong to a community, they cooperate with one another in order to, let's say, accomplish tasks and to do specific, to do the responsibilities in their community. Back in the early times, we all know that when they hunt, they go in group. So when they do farming, they help each other and so on with other responsibilities. Kahn, on the other hand, mentioned that indigenous science involves developmental stages. Of most sciences are characterized by continual competition between a number of distinct views of nature, each partially derived from and all roughly compatible with the dictates of scientific observation and method. Now, since everything, or let's say the resources that they need comes from nature, they were able to create certain processes and certain, let's say, techniques, let's say for hunting or for fishing or for farming. So they were able to create some processes, some strategies or techniques in order to make those, let's say, responsibilities or tasks a lot better. by using observations and other methods. Let's say trial and error method or experimentation method. They are actually doing that, but without even knowing that they're actually doing those methods. So there's no, let's say, a specific or right term for those, but they are just doing it all for the sake of discovering what will make their life better. Now, Sibisi said that it provides the basics of astronomy, pharmacology, food technology, or metallurgy. which were derived from traditional knowledge and practices. So let us not set aside this traditional knowledge and practices. Let's not set aside indigenous science because this is actually the foundation of every field of science that we have today. As you can see here, indigenous science uses science process skills such as observing, comparing, classifying, measuring, problem solving, inferring, communicating, and predicting. Now, Indigenous science is guided by culture and community, and they were able to develop a general concept of what Indigenous science is. Number one, the land is a source of life. So as we all know, they get the resources from nature. And so they consider the land as their source of life, primarily because perhaps they are doing a lot of farming. So most of their food comes from the crops that they plant. And they consider the earth, or they revered. the earth as mother earth and they actually conceptualize that it is the origin of their identity as so all living and non-living things are interconnected and interdependent with each other perhaps as they observe or perhaps as they are they continue their life they've noticed that this non-living things are essential for us livings to continue in our daily life and for us to you know supply ourselves with nourishment. We need these non-living things like water, the land that they till in order for them to harvest their crops, and so on. So they also generalize that human beings are stewards or trustee of the land and other natural resources. And lastly, nature is a friend to human beings. So I hope even though we... are progressing in terms of science and technology despite the development of computers and whatnot, let us always remember that nature is our friend, that we need to protect our Mother Earth, that we need to protect our environment because without the environment, of course, we will not be able to survive and of course supply ourselves with essential things that we need, okay? Now, let's proceed now to the Spanish period. Now, please take note that the opening of the Suez Canal allowed liberal ideas to spread from Europe to the Philippines. The shipbuilding industry advanced as a result of the galleon train. Now, remember, during those times, industries such as embroidery, tobacco, and weaving flourished after Philippines opened up to foreign trade. Now, The Spanish colonial period is widely regarded as the beginning of modern science and technology in the Philippines. And it was during this period that the Spaniards divided large communities into reducciones. They divided it into towns and cities, and it is where they actually collect tax from the people. Now, even though the Philippines slowly progressed, actually, the progression is actually very slow. Although there is already trade and commerce, the primary focus of the Spanish or the Spaniards is actually religious education. That's why the greatest contribution of the Spaniards to us Filipinos is actually religious education. Now, let me add this, that the three goals of Spanish colonization is actually gold, God and glory. Again, please take note of that. The three goals of Spanish colonization is God. gold and glory. However, there is another goal. There's this goal of the Spaniards in terms of education. So the three goals of Spanish education is number one, the indoctrination of Spanish, the indoctrination of Spanish belief, particularly Catholicism. Remember, or let me paraphrase that. So the first goal of Spanish education is the indoctrination of Christianity. But take note that during those times, the Spaniards were more focused on allowing us Filipinos to memorize the Bible. There's no deeper teaching of the Bible during that time. And the Spaniards also taught us about the life of the saints. So that's why most of the Catholics nowadays are so much adapted. So much adapted to the life of the saints. And that's why they worship the saints. So another goal of Spanish education is the promotion of Spanish language. Now, please take note that although the Spaniards were promoting the Spanish language, they actually make use of vernacular language, meaning the language available in that particular community. So that's the language they use to teach. Remember, Filipinos during those times don't know or Filipinos don't know how to speak Spanish yet. So the Spaniards were forced to learn vernacular language so that they can teach Filipinos how to speak in Spanish. And the last goal of Spanish education is imposition of Spanish culture. Now, what are the examples of culture that happened to us? Or what is the proof of the existence of Spanish culture? the Spanish culture in our country. One is of course the festivals like Dinagyang, Sinulog, Ati-Atihan. There's also the Fiesta, particularly the most famous one, Flores de Mayo. All of those came from the Spaniards. And I would like to reiterate this also that the Spaniards were able to pass on some traits onto us. And one of the traits that we inherited from the Spaniards is Actually, it's a negative trait, a negative attitude, which is yung procrastination. So yan yung isa sa mga negative attitude na namanan natin sa mga Spaniards. Now, going back, because trade and commerce is established, or trade and commerce has already opened its door for the Filipinos, trade and commerce also resulted in the development of public amenities like transportation, lighting, banking, and information. So maraming nang nagbago, maraming umunlad during those times. And those were actually products of science and technology. Now, another one, I would like you to note that the colonization of the Philippines by the Spaniards provided the Philippines with modern building materials such as bricks and tiles. In fact, in 1887, the Laboratorio Municipal that the Manila was established. to address public health concerns and conduct medical research. So back then, perhaps, siguro marami na silang marami mga sakit na nagsusulputan. So the Spaniards created or established the Laboratorio Municipal Ciudad in order for them to study these diseases and eventually create some, kapag or in order for them to help cure those diseases. Now despite the fact that the Spaniards colonized the Philippines for over 300 years, science and technology did not develop to its full potential. This is true. Now please take note of this. Why did science and technology did not develop? Why did science and technology did not develop into its full potential during the time of the Spaniards? This is due to superstitions and Catholic doctrines. Remember during those times, the focus of the Spaniards is religious education. So due to superstitions and Catholic doctrines and poor government administration, science and technology did not develop into its full potential. Now, science education during this Spanish period During this time, early science education focused on the human body, plants, animals, and heavenly bodies. So early technology education focused on the use of development of tools for everyday life. So parang ganun pa rin sa indigenous science. So mostly practical, vocational, and yung mga nagagamit nila sa pang-araw-araw, ang focus ng science noon or ng mga technologies na nadedevelop nila. Now, higher education was centered in cities such as Manila. However, only a select few have access to these institutions, yung mga mayayaman lang, okay? Such as the Spaniards, Mestizos, and a few select Filipinos. Medicine and advanced sciences were introduced in former colleges and universities. Established by the Catholic orders through training were generally poor. So talagang hindi ganoon, no? Hindi ganoon. ka-develop pa yung ating education system. Primarily because there's no public school system during those times. And ang mga schools noon ay what they call parochial schools. And ang mga tinuturo talaga is mostly catechism. Okay? Yan talaga ang focus ng Spanish period. Ang Spaniards during the Spanish period. Now, during this time, as I've As I mentioned earlier, it was the opening of the Suas Canel that allowed the penetration of liberal ideas to the Philippines. When the Suas Canel opened and there was a galleon trade, our fellow countrymen were awakened, particularly the national heroes like Jose Rizal. They were able to learn the barbaric treatment and the drastic treatment of the Spaniards to the Filipinos. So the founding of the Real Sociedad Economica de los Amigos del París de Filipina encouraged agriculture and industry to eventually prosper. Now, as I've mentioned, galleon trade allowed both goods and ideas from the West to reach the country. So the ones who really benefited here were the Spaniards. Remember, not all Filipinos were, I mean, the majority of the Filipinos during this time were uneducated. That's why they were easily fooled. ng mga Spaniards at ng mga other cultures like sa mga Chinese and Japanese. Madali na loko ang mga Filipinos noon because they're uneducated. And initially, agriculture and industry were neglected and their progress was slow. So as I've mentioned, talagang yung progress ng science and technology was very, very slow during the time of the Spanish era. Now, however, The founding, as I've mentioned, the founding of the Real Sociedad Economica de los Amigos de Paris de Filipina encouraged agriculture and industry to prosper. So there were many crops, many crops were cultivated and some industries were developed. And when the Philippines became open for foreign trade industries such as embroidery, tobacco, and weaving, we were able to successfully trade with other cultures. Now, Let's now move on to the American period. Now, the public education system during this time is free with English as a medium of instruction. In fact, in 1901, the Americans established the public education system and established the Department of Public Instruction. This is actually the name of Dep-EN. This is the first name of the Department of Education. Now, basic education focused on nature studies. and science and sanitation during that time. So normal schools were established. What is the example of normal school? One of the most famous is, of course, the Philippine Normal School, which is now the Philippine Normal University. On top of that, it was not only the Philippine Normal School or Philippine Normal University that was established. During the time of the Americans, the University of the Philippines was also established. So it was during the American colonization that the University of the Philippines was established. The university started with mostly foreign teachers and professors. And Filipinos were sent. You know, some of the Filipinos were actually very privileged during that time because they were given scholarships. And they were sent abroad to... study and later on, these scholars who studied abroad came back to our country and they replaced the foreigners who were in the University of the Philippines. Now by 1905, the Bureau of Science was established to foster the advancement of science and technology. Alright, now science and technology focus on agriculture, food processing, forestry, medicine and pharmacy. Now the Americans established the Bureau of Government Laboratories in 1901 to deal with the study of tropical diseases and laboratory projects. Now this was replaced with the Bureau of Science in 1905 to nurture the development of science and technology. Now in this bureau, serums and prophylactics needed by the Philippine General Hospital and Bureau of Health were manufactured and diseases were studied. mas lalong nag-advance yung ating science and technology because of the establishment of the Bureau of Science. Now, let's move on naman sa post-colonial period. During the post-colonial period, please take note that there was a decline since after the Americans left, bumagsak or nagkalo ng decline sa ating science and technology. And because of this, The Science Act of 1958 was enhanced. This established the National Science Development Board, the Philippine Atomic Energy Commission, and the National Institute of Science and Technology. And by the 1960s, the Philippine Inventors Commission and Philippine Coconut Research Institute were also established. Now, one of the things I want you to remember during this time, during the post-colonial period, is when President Josado Macapagal established the Philippine Science High School. with the hope of strengthening or with the hope of educating the young ones and for training them and teaching them more about science and technology. Now after the colonization by Japan, the country focused on building institutions and public facilities such as schools. schools, hospitals, and transportation systems, as well as providing technical training and human resource development. So human resource development focused on producing engineers. So those are the things we need. That's why our government during that time really tried to produce more engineers, scientists, technology experts, doctors, and other professionals. Now, during the Marcos administration, actually, during the time of Marcos, there was a change or development in terms of science and technology. So, during his term, many agencies were established. As, for example, the established at the time was the... National Grains Authority. Please take note of that. National Grains Authority, which is now National Food Authority. Na-establish din sa panahon ni Marcos ang Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration, or PAG-ASA. Again, sa panahon ni Marcos, na-establish ang PAG-ASA, which means Philippine... Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration. So, actually, maraming nabuo sa panahon ni Marcos. Andyan din ang National Academy of Science and Technology. So, it was during the time of Marcos na talagang nagkaroon ng pagbulusok sa science and technology. Now, during the time of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo naman, During the time of Gloria Macapagal, there was what is called the Filipinovation, which actually focuses on improving the country's economic status by helping Philippines or helping Filipinos to become an Asian innovation powerhouse. So that's the focus of the Filipinovation. Under Joseph Estrada, the number of science and technology professionals grew and there were more Philippine high schools built. And healthcare services were also prioritized during the time of President Joseph Estrada. Okay, please take note also that during the time of President Corazon Aquino, she replaced NSTA or National Science and Technology Authority to DOST. So President Corazon Aquino gave the name DOST or Department of Science and Technology. So it was during the time of Corazon Aquino that... Science and Technology Master Plan was created. Now, the goal of the Science and Technology Master Plan is for the Philippines to achieve newly industrialized country status by the year 2000. So, that is the target of Science and Technology Master Plan of President Corazon Aquino. During the time of... President Rodrigo Duterte, the Philippine Development Plan was established. So the Philippine Development Plan, which was targeted to happen from 2017 to 2022, is a massive undertaking aimed at improving the country's infrastructure, increasing energy access, lowering citizen costs, maintaining economic growth, and adhering to global climate change and sustainable growth agreements. So what is the target of the Philippine Development Plan? One of the targets of the Philippine Development Plan is for the Philippines to be an upper-middle-income country by 2022, and that growth will be more inclusive as manifested by a lower poverty incidence in rural areas, so from 30% in 2015 to 20% in 2022. Another goal of the PDP is for the Philippines to have a high level of human development by 2022. And the unemployment rate will decline from 5.5% to 3.5% in 2022. Now, it is also the goal of PDP to, that there will be greater trust in government and in society. Individuals and communities will be more resilient and Filipinos will have greater drive for innovation. But unfortunately, as you can see, because of the pandemic, the situation has been affected. uh it um um or it um uh plans no the president rodrigo duterte so uh nobody wanted the pandemic by the way so indeed in anticipating and because of that uh the pandemic greatly influenced the the impact of the philippine development plan okay now Here, you can see the pillars of the Philippine Development Plan. So the first one is malasakit. I would like you to just focus. Kapag sinabi nating malasakit, ang goal nito is to regain people's trust in public institutions and each other. Now, kapag sinabi nating pagbabago, this is focused on inclusive growth, which includes universal social protection, basic education, and other social services will be improved. And. while also raising the country's status in the global market. And when we say continuing to grow, actually, the target of our president is for our country to be a manufacturing-focused powerhouse, like China, so that there will be continuous economic growth. So there is a great demand in manufacturing services, like in China. So our country wanted to be... a manufacturing-focused powerhouse. Now this time we'll be focusing on the 10 outstanding Filipino scientists who made remarkable contribution to our country. So the very first one is Enrique Mapua Austria. So ang tatandaan nyo lang pag sinabi natin or pag binanggit si Enrique Mapua Austria, number one, he is a neonatologist. So he focuses on neonatals, yung pag-analyze. Actually, pagsisuri sa mga neonatal, yung mga nasa sinapupunan pa ng mga pregnant women. So, ano ba yung focus ng meconium analysis? So, the focus of the meconium analysis, which was created by Enrique Mapua, is to detect prenatal exposure to drugs. So, dinidignan nila kung yung mga fetuses pa o yung mga prenatal babies ay kumbaga na-expose sa harmful drugs. there are some women who use illegal drugs. So, they want to see if the prenatal babies are... to expose this kind of harmful drugs. So that's the work of Enrique Mapua Austria. Then we have Jose Bejar Cruz. Jose Bejar Cruz is actually known for his theory and practice of automated control. In fact, in the 1970s and 1980s, his work on the control of leader-follower systems is still considered one of the major contributions of the half century. And he... He is also named an officer of the renowned Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers. So yan yung naging contribution ni Jose Behar Cruz Jr. Next, we have Marijo Panganiban-Luis. She is well known for her abilities as an educator and graph theory. So again, yan ang tatandaan nyo kay Marijo Panganiban-Luis. Kay Josefino, that's Josefino Pacas Comiso naman, ang kanyang... A remarkable contribution is his study which revealed the outstanding rate at which Arctic sea ice is melting. He was a prominent figure in a global project to monitor the planet's rapidly dwindling perennial sea ice cover. And he authored a report on this subject. So we're very proud that a Filipino actually studied the melting of Arctic sea ice. ng Arctic ice, which actually contributes to the increase in the sea level. And actually, because of this study, nag-piner din ito doon sa other researchers na may mga lugar, hindi lang sa Pilipinas, kundi sa ibang-ibang panig ng mundo, nawawawala as the Arctic ice continues to melt. So, next one, we have Rafael Dineros Guerrero. Si Rafael Dineros Guerrero naman ay known for... His contribution to the improvement of set traversal and hatchery techniques, both of which help in the commercial production of yielding market-sized fish. Particularly, ang isda na pinag-aralan ni Rafael Dineros Guerrero III ay tilapia. So, ang layunin, so the goal of this study is to increase the production of tilapias. And of course, you know, we're quite aware that there's already scarcity in aquatic supply or aquatic resources and in some fishes. So this study actually helped increase the production of fish, particularly tilapia. Next, we have Lillian Formalejo-Patena. Lillian Formalejo-Patena is known for discovering the seedless lime and pomelo varieties because he was well known for plant biotechnology research. So that was his contribution. Next, we have Fabian Millard-Eyrit. If you say Fabian Millard-Eyrit, remember Lagundi. He studied the phytochemical analysis of Lagundi and the development of Lagundi as a medicine, particularly for cough and related illnesses and diseases. We have Ramon Cabanos-Barba. He is well-known for inventing floral induction in mango plants. So the significance and effect of his findings along with his self-motivation to assist others led him to transform how mangoes and other crops are produced across the world. So it's not just for our country that Ramon Barba studied, but it was also used by other cultures or countries in yielding and increasing their mango production in other plants. or other crabs. Next, we have Lourdes Hansoy Cruz, she's a Filipino scientist whose work has advanced our understanding of the biochemistry of poisonous peptides derived from the venom of fish hunting colus marine snails. And lastly, we have Gregory Ligo Tangonan. He played a key role in the development of optoelectronic applications in radar, optical networking, and analog systems. So those are our top 10 or 10 outstanding Filipino scientists. Now for the last part of our discussion, we'll be focusing on the history of the science schools in the Philippines. So I just incorporated here or added here the important concepts about the science schools in the Philippines. So first one, we have the Philippine Science High School System. The education here is founded on a curriculum that prioritizes of course Science and Mathematics. And the aim of the Philippine Science High School is to prepare students for careers in science and technology. So please take note of that. Next, we have Special Science Elementary School Project. What is the focus of this? This project focuses... on imparting scientific and technological learning skills and values to Filipino children. Next, we have Quezon City Regional Science High School. It was actually first known as Quezon City Science High School. The objective is to give as many opportunities as possible for science-gifted children to cultivate an inquisitive and creative attitude. And we have Manila Science High School. It is actually the first. the first science high school in the country. The program includes science and mathematics significantly, but of course, its vision is to develop scientists with souls. So that's the main target of Manila Science High School. Last one on our list of science schools is Central Design Institute Foundation. The dynamic learning program in this... foundation or in this school is a synthesis of classical and current pedagogical approaches that aim to maximize learning creativity and productivity. Actually, it is the precursor and progenitor of the well-known dynamic learning program. Now, it hosts worldwide seminars to promote the exchange of ideas on cutting-edge physics and mathematic fields. In fact, it founded the Research Center for Theoretical Physics in 1992. But you know, honestly, I feel a little bit of a shock. bad knowing that this science high schools only cater a few okay and somehow it's also selective because just like you just like you can see the regional science high school it provides opportunities mostly to science gifted students so i i hope and pray that sa buong bansa so that more children or more students will be exposed to science and mathematics. And kumbaga maiangat natin yung patuloy na pagbaba ng kalidad ng, or pagbaba ng ating rating sa science and math. So I hope na talagang magawan ito ng paraan ng ating gobyerno. Okay, so that ends our discussion. Now if you have any questions, just feel free to comment your question on the chat. box or in the space provided in the comment section. So thank you very much for listening and I'll see you in our next discussion. Thank you very much.

Now, before the arrival of the Spaniards, Filipinos, early Filipinos are already engaged with trade or in trade with different cultures, particularly the Chinese, the Indonesians, and the Japanese. Now, early Filipinos are actually using, we're actually using science and technology as a proof is the creation of the Banaue Rice Dario says, you know, As we already know, banalized terraces was included before in the eight wonders of the world because of its sophistication and pristine and precise engineering. So, you know, before the arrival of the Spaniards, the Americans and the Japanese, our ancestors are already using science and technology in a practical usage. Let's say, for example. They are applying science and technology when they are farming, when they are hunting for food, when they're doing household chores, and when they are educating their children.

You know, during the pre-colonial period, children are educated in a vocational way. Because, you know, like, for example, fathers will teach younger, their sons, on how to do farming work, on how to hunt for food. And they would pass on some of their responsibilities to them so that when they grow up, they'll become responsible husband and responsible members of the community. And the same goes to women. Mothers teach their daughters how to do household chores, how to prepare food, and how to take care for their siblings.

So that's how they use science and technology. Now, please take note that in the early... times during the pre-colonial period, the term is not actually strictly science itself, but it's actually known as indigenous science.

Now, according to Pawilan and Sadisi, now, indigenous science includes complex arrays of knowledge, expertise, practices, and representations derived from traditional knowledge and practices that guide human societies. Now, if you look at this diagram, this is actually a simple framework created by Pawilan. Now, indigenous science uses, of course, science process and skills. Remember, when we talk about science, it involves a step-by-step process.

It involves procedures. Now, our ancestors are guided by their culture and values. So they actually make use of their traditions and their belief. And that's actually what the context of indigenous science is. On top of that, indigenous science is composed of...

traditional knowledge and this has been passed on from generation to generation. Now if you look at here there are several definitions of indigenous science. As I've mentioned, Pawilen says that indigenous science is more of a traditional knowledge and practice. Well Ogawa mentioned that indigenous science is collectively lived in and experienced by the people of a given culture. So it's more of the practical usage of the daily life or the use of science in their daily life.

So Cahete, on the other hand, says that it includes everything from metaphysics to philosophy and various practical technologies practiced by indigenous people, both past and present. Remember, when we talk about technology, we talk about tools. And. Even in the early times, our ancestors made use of several tools, let's say for farming, for hunting fish, or for hunting food, let's just say, and for doing household chores. Even for cooking, they actually create several tools and equipment that could help them make their life better.

So that's indigenous science. According to Yacarino, science is a part of culture and how science is a part of culture and how it is done. largely depends on the cultural practice of the people. So the application of indigenous science mainly depends on what ethnic group they belong, which tribe they belong, and the practices they do. or the practices they have in their community.

And all of those affect the application and their concept of what science is. Now, Johnston said that indigenous science refers to indigenous beliefs develop desirable values that are relevant or consistent to scientific attitudes. So what are these desirable values that Johnston is talking about? The first one is motivating attitudes. The next one is cooperating attitudes.

We have practical attitudes and reflective attitudes. So you see, motivating attitudes, of course, as I've mentioned earlier, parents keep on motivating their children to adopt what they are doing so that they could pass it from generation to generation. And since they belong to a community, they cooperate with one another in order to, let's say, accomplish tasks and to do specific, to do the responsibilities in their community. Back in the early times, we all know that when they hunt, they go in group. So when they do farming, they help each other and so on with other responsibilities.

Kahn, on the other hand, mentioned that indigenous science involves developmental stages. Of most sciences are characterized by continual competition between a number of distinct views of nature, each partially derived from and all roughly compatible with the dictates of scientific observation and method. Now, since everything, or let's say the resources that they need comes from nature, they were able to create certain processes and certain, let's say, techniques, let's say for hunting or for fishing or for farming.

So they were able to create some processes, some strategies or techniques in order to make those, let's say, responsibilities or tasks a lot better. by using observations and other methods. Let's say trial and error method or experimentation method. They are actually doing that, but without even knowing that they're actually doing those methods. So there's no, let's say, a specific or right term for those, but they are just doing it all for the sake of discovering what will make their life better.

Now, Sibisi said that it provides the basics of astronomy, pharmacology, food technology, or metallurgy. which were derived from traditional knowledge and practices. So let us not set aside this traditional knowledge and practices.

Let's not set aside indigenous science because this is actually the foundation of every field of science that we have today. As you can see here, indigenous science uses science process skills such as observing, comparing, classifying, measuring, problem solving, inferring, communicating, and predicting. Now, Indigenous science is guided by culture and community, and they were able to develop a general concept of what Indigenous science is.

Number one, the land is a source of life. So as we all know, they get the resources from nature. And so they consider the land as their source of life, primarily because perhaps they are doing a lot of farming.

So most of their food comes from the crops that they plant. And they consider the earth, or they revered. the earth as mother earth and they actually conceptualize that it is the origin of their identity as so all living and non-living things are interconnected and interdependent with each other perhaps as they observe or perhaps as they are they continue their life they've noticed that this non-living things are essential for us livings to continue in our daily life and for us to you know supply ourselves with nourishment. We need these non-living things like water, the land that they till in order for them to harvest their crops, and so on. So they also generalize that human beings are stewards or trustee of the land and other natural resources.

And lastly, nature is a friend to human beings. So I hope even though we... are progressing in terms of science and technology despite the development of computers and whatnot, let us always remember that nature is our friend, that we need to protect our Mother Earth, that we need to protect our environment because without the environment, of course, we will not be able to survive and of course supply ourselves with essential things that we need, okay? Now, let's proceed now to the Spanish period. Now, please take note that the opening of the Suez Canal allowed liberal ideas to spread from Europe to the Philippines.

The shipbuilding industry advanced as a result of the galleon train. Now, remember, during those times, industries such as embroidery, tobacco, and weaving flourished after Philippines opened up to foreign trade. Now, The Spanish colonial period is widely regarded as the beginning of modern science and technology in the Philippines.

And it was during this period that the Spaniards divided large communities into reducciones. They divided it into towns and cities, and it is where they actually collect tax from the people. Now, even though the Philippines slowly progressed, actually, the progression is actually very slow. Although there is already trade and commerce, the primary focus of the Spanish or the Spaniards is actually religious education. That's why the greatest contribution of the Spaniards to us Filipinos is actually religious education.

Now, let me add this, that the three goals of Spanish colonization is actually gold, God and glory. Again, please take note of that. The three goals of Spanish colonization is God.

gold and glory. However, there is another goal. There's this goal of the Spaniards in terms of education.

So the three goals of Spanish education is number one, the indoctrination of Spanish, the indoctrination of Spanish belief, particularly Catholicism. Remember, or let me paraphrase that. So the first goal of Spanish education is the indoctrination of Christianity. But take note that during those times, the Spaniards were more focused on allowing us Filipinos to memorize the Bible. There's no deeper teaching of the Bible during that time.

And the Spaniards also taught us about the life of the saints. So that's why most of the Catholics nowadays are so much adapted. So much adapted to the life of the saints. And that's why they worship the saints.

So another goal of Spanish education is the promotion of Spanish language. Now, please take note that although the Spaniards were promoting the Spanish language, they actually make use of vernacular language, meaning the language available in that particular community. So that's the language they use to teach. Remember, Filipinos during those times don't know or Filipinos don't know how to speak Spanish yet.

So the Spaniards were forced to learn vernacular language so that they can teach Filipinos how to speak in Spanish. And the last goal of Spanish education is imposition of Spanish culture. Now, what are the examples of culture that happened to us?

Or what is the proof of the existence of Spanish culture? the Spanish culture in our country. One is of course the festivals like Dinagyang, Sinulog, Ati-Atihan.

There's also the Fiesta, particularly the most famous one, Flores de Mayo. All of those came from the Spaniards. And I would like to reiterate this also that the Spaniards were able to pass on some traits onto us. And one of the traits that we inherited from the Spaniards is Actually, it's a negative trait, a negative attitude, which is yung procrastination.

So yan yung isa sa mga negative attitude na namanan natin sa mga Spaniards. Now, going back, because trade and commerce is established, or trade and commerce has already opened its door for the Filipinos, trade and commerce also resulted in the development of public amenities like transportation, lighting, banking, and information. So maraming nang nagbago, maraming umunlad during those times. And those were actually products of science and technology. Now, another one, I would like you to note that the colonization of the Philippines by the Spaniards provided the Philippines with modern building materials such as bricks and tiles.

In fact, in 1887, the Laboratorio Municipal that the Manila was established. to address public health concerns and conduct medical research. So back then, perhaps, siguro marami na silang marami mga sakit na nagsusulputan.

So the Spaniards created or established the Laboratorio Municipal Ciudad in order for them to study these diseases and eventually create some, kapag or in order for them to help cure those diseases. Now despite the fact that the Spaniards colonized the Philippines for over 300 years, science and technology did not develop to its full potential. This is true.

Now please take note of this. Why did science and technology did not develop? Why did science and technology did not develop into its full potential during the time of the Spaniards? This is due to superstitions and Catholic doctrines.

Remember during those times, the focus of the Spaniards is religious education. So due to superstitions and Catholic doctrines and poor government administration, science and technology did not develop into its full potential. Now, science education during this Spanish period During this time, early science education focused on the human body, plants, animals, and heavenly bodies.

So early technology education focused on the use of development of tools for everyday life. So parang ganun pa rin sa indigenous science. So mostly practical, vocational, and yung mga nagagamit nila sa pang-araw-araw, ang focus ng science noon or ng mga technologies na nadedevelop nila.

Now, higher education was centered in cities such as Manila. However, only a select few have access to these institutions, yung mga mayayaman lang, okay? Such as the Spaniards, Mestizos, and a few select Filipinos.

Medicine and advanced sciences were introduced in former colleges and universities. Established by the Catholic orders through training were generally poor. So talagang hindi ganoon, no?

Hindi ganoon. ka-develop pa yung ating education system. Primarily because there's no public school system during those times.

And ang mga schools noon ay what they call parochial schools. And ang mga tinuturo talaga is mostly catechism. Okay? Yan talaga ang focus ng Spanish period. Ang Spaniards during the Spanish period.

Now, during this time, as I've As I mentioned earlier, it was the opening of the Suas Canel that allowed the penetration of liberal ideas to the Philippines. When the Suas Canel opened and there was a galleon trade, our fellow countrymen were awakened, particularly the national heroes like Jose Rizal. They were able to learn the barbaric treatment and the drastic treatment of the Spaniards to the Filipinos.

So the founding of the Real Sociedad Economica de los Amigos del París de Filipina encouraged agriculture and industry to eventually prosper. Now, as I've mentioned, galleon trade allowed both goods and ideas from the West to reach the country. So the ones who really benefited here were the Spaniards.

Remember, not all Filipinos were, I mean, the majority of the Filipinos during this time were uneducated. That's why they were easily fooled. ng mga Spaniards at ng mga other cultures like sa mga Chinese and Japanese.

Madali na loko ang mga Filipinos noon because they're uneducated. And initially, agriculture and industry were neglected and their progress was slow. So as I've mentioned, talagang yung progress ng science and technology was very, very slow during the time of the Spanish era. Now, however, The founding, as I've mentioned, the founding of the Real Sociedad Economica de los Amigos de Paris de Filipina encouraged agriculture and industry to prosper. So there were many crops, many crops were cultivated and some industries were developed.

And when the Philippines became open for foreign trade industries such as embroidery, tobacco, and weaving, we were able to successfully trade with other cultures. Now, Let's now move on to the American period. Now, the public education system during this time is free with English as a medium of instruction.

In fact, in 1901, the Americans established the public education system and established the Department of Public Instruction. This is actually the name of Dep-EN. This is the first name of the Department of Education. Now, basic education focused on nature studies. and science and sanitation during that time.

So normal schools were established. What is the example of normal school? One of the most famous is, of course, the Philippine Normal School, which is now the Philippine Normal University.

On top of that, it was not only the Philippine Normal School or Philippine Normal University that was established. During the time of the Americans, the University of the Philippines was also established. So it was during the American colonization that the University of the Philippines was established. The university started with mostly foreign teachers and professors.

And Filipinos were sent. You know, some of the Filipinos were actually very privileged during that time because they were given scholarships. And they were sent abroad to... study and later on, these scholars who studied abroad came back to our country and they replaced the foreigners who were in the University of the Philippines. Now by 1905, the Bureau of Science was established to foster the advancement of science and technology.

Alright, now science and technology focus on agriculture, food processing, forestry, medicine and pharmacy. Now the Americans established the Bureau of Government Laboratories in 1901 to deal with the study of tropical diseases and laboratory projects. Now this was replaced with the Bureau of Science in 1905 to nurture the development of science and technology.

Now in this bureau, serums and prophylactics needed by the Philippine General Hospital and Bureau of Health were manufactured and diseases were studied. mas lalong nag-advance yung ating science and technology because of the establishment of the Bureau of Science. Now, let's move on naman sa post-colonial period. During the post-colonial period, please take note that there was a decline since after the Americans left, bumagsak or nagkalo ng decline sa ating science and technology. And because of this, The Science Act of 1958 was enhanced.

This established the National Science Development Board, the Philippine Atomic Energy Commission, and the National Institute of Science and Technology. And by the 1960s, the Philippine Inventors Commission and Philippine Coconut Research Institute were also established. Now, one of the things I want you to remember during this time, during the post-colonial period, is when President Josado Macapagal established the Philippine Science High School. with the hope of strengthening or with the hope of educating the young ones and for training them and teaching them more about science and technology.

Now after the colonization by Japan, the country focused on building institutions and public facilities such as schools. schools, hospitals, and transportation systems, as well as providing technical training and human resource development. So human resource development focused on producing engineers. So those are the things we need.

That's why our government during that time really tried to produce more engineers, scientists, technology experts, doctors, and other professionals. Now, during the Marcos administration, actually, during the time of Marcos, there was a change or development in terms of science and technology. So, during his term, many agencies were established.

As, for example, the established at the time was the... National Grains Authority. Please take note of that. National Grains Authority, which is now National Food Authority.

Na-establish din sa panahon ni Marcos ang Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration, or PAG-ASA. Again, sa panahon ni Marcos, na-establish ang PAG-ASA, which means Philippine... Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration.

So, actually, maraming nabuo sa panahon ni Marcos. Andyan din ang National Academy of Science and Technology. So, it was during the time of Marcos na talagang nagkaroon ng pagbulusok sa science and technology.

Now, during the time of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo naman, During the time of Gloria Macapagal, there was what is called the Filipinovation, which actually focuses on improving the country's economic status by helping Philippines or helping Filipinos to become an Asian innovation powerhouse. So that's the focus of the Filipinovation. Under Joseph Estrada, the number of science and technology professionals grew and there were more Philippine high schools built. And healthcare services were also prioritized during the time of President Joseph Estrada. Okay, please take note also that during the time of President Corazon Aquino, she replaced NSTA or National Science and Technology Authority to DOST.

So President Corazon Aquino gave the name DOST or Department of Science and Technology. So it was during the time of Corazon Aquino that... Science and Technology Master Plan was created.

Now, the goal of the Science and Technology Master Plan is for the Philippines to achieve newly industrialized country status by the year 2000. So, that is the target of Science and Technology Master Plan of President Corazon Aquino. During the time of... President Rodrigo Duterte, the Philippine Development Plan was established.

So the Philippine Development Plan, which was targeted to happen from 2017 to 2022, is a massive undertaking aimed at improving the country's infrastructure, increasing energy access, lowering citizen costs, maintaining economic growth, and adhering to global climate change and sustainable growth agreements. So what is the target of the Philippine Development Plan? One of the targets of the Philippine Development Plan is for the Philippines to be an upper-middle-income country by 2022, and that growth will be more inclusive as manifested by a lower poverty incidence in rural areas, so from 30% in 2015 to 20% in 2022. Another goal of the PDP is for the Philippines to have a high level of human development by 2022. And the unemployment rate will decline from 5.5% to 3.5% in 2022. Now, it is also the goal of PDP to, that there will be greater trust in government and in society. Individuals and communities will be more resilient and Filipinos will have greater drive for innovation.

But unfortunately, as you can see, because of the pandemic, the situation has been affected. uh it um um or it um uh plans no the president rodrigo duterte so uh nobody wanted the pandemic by the way so indeed in anticipating and because of that uh the pandemic greatly influenced the the impact of the philippine development plan okay now Here, you can see the pillars of the Philippine Development Plan. So the first one is malasakit.

I would like you to just focus. Kapag sinabi nating malasakit, ang goal nito is to regain people's trust in public institutions and each other. Now, kapag sinabi nating pagbabago, this is focused on inclusive growth, which includes universal social protection, basic education, and other social services will be improved. And. while also raising the country's status in the global market.

And when we say continuing to grow, actually, the target of our president is for our country to be a manufacturing-focused powerhouse, like China, so that there will be continuous economic growth. So there is a great demand in manufacturing services, like in China. So our country wanted to be... a manufacturing-focused powerhouse.

Now this time we'll be focusing on the 10 outstanding Filipino scientists who made remarkable contribution to our country. So the very first one is Enrique Mapua Austria. So ang tatandaan nyo lang pag sinabi natin or pag binanggit si Enrique Mapua Austria, number one, he is a neonatologist.

So he focuses on neonatals, yung pag-analyze. Actually, pagsisuri sa mga neonatal, yung mga nasa sinapupunan pa ng mga pregnant women. So, ano ba yung focus ng meconium analysis?

So, the focus of the meconium analysis, which was created by Enrique Mapua, is to detect prenatal exposure to drugs. So, dinidignan nila kung yung mga fetuses pa o yung mga prenatal babies ay kumbaga na-expose sa harmful drugs. there are some women who use illegal drugs.

So, they want to see if the prenatal babies are... to expose this kind of harmful drugs. So that's the work of Enrique Mapua Austria.

Then we have Jose Bejar Cruz. Jose Bejar Cruz is actually known for his theory and practice of automated control. In fact, in the 1970s and 1980s, his work on the control of leader-follower systems is still considered one of the major contributions of the half century. And he...

He is also named an officer of the renowned Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers. So yan yung naging contribution ni Jose Behar Cruz Jr. Next, we have Marijo Panganiban-Luis.

She is well known for her abilities as an educator and graph theory. So again, yan ang tatandaan nyo kay Marijo Panganiban-Luis. Kay Josefino, that's Josefino Pacas Comiso naman, ang kanyang...

A remarkable contribution is his study which revealed the outstanding rate at which Arctic sea ice is melting. He was a prominent figure in a global project to monitor the planet's rapidly dwindling perennial sea ice cover. And he authored a report on this subject.

So we're very proud that a Filipino actually studied the melting of Arctic sea ice. ng Arctic ice, which actually contributes to the increase in the sea level. And actually, because of this study, nag-piner din ito doon sa other researchers na may mga lugar, hindi lang sa Pilipinas, kundi sa ibang-ibang panig ng mundo, nawawawala as the Arctic ice continues to melt. So, next one, we have Rafael Dineros Guerrero.

Si Rafael Dineros Guerrero naman ay known for... His contribution to the improvement of set traversal and hatchery techniques, both of which help in the commercial production of yielding market-sized fish. Particularly, ang isda na pinag-aralan ni Rafael Dineros Guerrero III ay tilapia. So, ang layunin, so the goal of this study is to increase the production of tilapias. And of course, you know, we're quite aware that there's already scarcity in aquatic supply or aquatic resources and in some fishes.

So this study actually helped increase the production of fish, particularly tilapia. Next, we have Lillian Formalejo-Patena. Lillian Formalejo-Patena is known for discovering the seedless lime and pomelo varieties because he was well known for plant biotechnology research.

So that was his contribution. Next, we have Fabian Millard-Eyrit. If you say Fabian Millard-Eyrit, remember Lagundi.

He studied the phytochemical analysis of Lagundi and the development of Lagundi as a medicine, particularly for cough and related illnesses and diseases. We have Ramon Cabanos-Barba. He is well-known for inventing floral induction in mango plants. So the significance and effect of his findings along with his self-motivation to assist others led him to transform how mangoes and other crops are produced across the world. So it's not just for our country that Ramon Barba studied, but it was also used by other cultures or countries in yielding and increasing their mango production in other plants.

or other crabs. Next, we have Lourdes Hansoy Cruz, she's a Filipino scientist whose work has advanced our understanding of the biochemistry of poisonous peptides derived from the venom of fish hunting colus marine snails. And lastly, we have Gregory Ligo Tangonan. He played a key role in the development of optoelectronic applications in radar, optical networking, and analog systems. So those are our top 10 or 10 outstanding Filipino scientists.

Now for the last part of our discussion, we'll be focusing on the history of the science schools in the Philippines. So I just incorporated here or added here the important concepts about the science schools in the Philippines. So first one, we have the Philippine Science High School System.

The education here is founded on a curriculum that prioritizes of course Science and Mathematics. And the aim of the Philippine Science High School is to prepare students for careers in science and technology. So please take note of that. Next, we have Special Science Elementary School Project. What is the focus of this?

This project focuses... on imparting scientific and technological learning skills and values to Filipino children. Next, we have Quezon City Regional Science High School. It was actually first known as Quezon City Science High School. The objective is to give as many opportunities as possible for science-gifted children to cultivate an inquisitive and creative attitude.

And we have Manila Science High School. It is actually the first. the first science high school in the country.

The program includes science and mathematics significantly, but of course, its vision is to develop scientists with souls. So that's the main target of Manila Science High School. Last one on our list of science schools is Central Design Institute Foundation.

The dynamic learning program in this... foundation or in this school is a synthesis of classical and current pedagogical approaches that aim to maximize learning creativity and productivity. Actually, it is the precursor and progenitor of the well-known dynamic learning program. Now, it hosts worldwide seminars to promote the exchange of ideas on cutting-edge physics and mathematic fields.

In fact, it founded the Research Center for Theoretical Physics in 1992. But you know, honestly, I feel a little bit of a shock. bad knowing that this science high schools only cater a few okay and somehow it's also selective because just like you just like you can see the regional science high school it provides opportunities mostly to science gifted students so i i hope and pray that sa buong bansa so that more children or more students will be exposed to science and mathematics. And kumbaga maiangat natin yung patuloy na pagbaba ng kalidad ng, or pagbaba ng ating rating sa science and math. So I hope na talagang magawan ito ng paraan ng ating gobyerno. Okay, so that ends our discussion.

Now if you have any questions, just feel free to comment your question on the chat. box or in the space provided in the comment section. So thank you very much for listening and I'll see you in our next discussion.

Thank you very much.

Transcript for:Evolution of Science and Technology in the Philippines

Transcript for:
Evolution of Science and Technology in the Philippines