The image above, from the Facebook page of DoST itself, “#ScienceForThePeople,” is as is: Empty. Somebody forgot? Or somebody didn’t do his/her homework! “63 years of serving the people through science, technology and innovation,” and all that can be shown is an empty (an incomplete) circle? There must be a good explanation, and I am going to search for it now.
(1) No, it is not for lack of warm bodies!
DoST has the following attached agencies[1] (Biosafety Clearinghouse of the Philippines):
2 councils: Philippine Council for Industry, Energy and Emerging Technology Research & Development (PCIEERD); Philippine Council for Health Research & Development (PCHRD);
11 service institutes:
(1) Advanced Science & Technology Institute (ASTI)
(2) Food & Nutrition Research Institute (FNRI)
(3) Forest Products Research & Development Institute (FPRDI)
(4) Industrial Technology Development Institute (ITDI)
(5) Metals Industry Research & Development Center (MIRDC)
(6) Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical & Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA)
(7) Philippine Nuclear Research Institute (PNRI)
(8) Philippine Textile Research Institute (PTRI)
(9) Science Education Institute (SEI)
(10) Science & Technology Information Institute (STII)
(11) Technology Application and Promotion Institute (TAPI).
(2) No, it is not for lack of accomplishments.
Not complete, but here is proof. “DOST Bares 5 Major Achievements In 2017” written by Ma Christina Arayata (01 January 2018, PNA.gov.ph):
1. Research & development (R&D) assistance – DoST assisted more than 1,000 R&D projects undertaken by its 11 attached agencies.
2. Assistance to MSMEs – For 2017 alone, DoST provided 574 firms with hardware and software to upgrade their technology capacities.
3. Assistance to startups – DoST assisted 400 startups in 2017, with money, services, calibration etc.
4. Human resource development – The same year, the DoST provided scholarship funds to 22,000 students.
5. Weather radars– “To further improve weather forecasting capacity,” 4 Doppler radars and 2 flood forecasting & warning centers were completed in 2017.
(3) In 2019, there were signal accomplishments in the fields of transportation, healthcare, and disaster mitigation.
The Philippines ranked #50 in the Global Innovation Index (GII), up by 19 notches from 73 in 2018 and 2017[2] (Ma Christina Arayata, 03 September 2020, “PH Up 4 Notches To 50th Place In 2020 Global Innovation Index,” PNA.gov.ph). GII is based on 7 pillars: institutions, human capital and research, infrastructure, business sophistication, market sophistication, knowledge and technology outputs, and creative outputs.
My listing is incomplete, but it shows there is much to report. So, why the lack of a combined 63-year DoST report? Guessing:
(1) Science heads were wary of health threats of Covid-19 in gatherings. So, no serious attempts to meet.
(2) Nobody in DoST has mastered digital desktop publishing 100%. This is the technique of gathering texts & images, data & information, and combining all those for the agency’s consolidated report,
Safely, I am charging it to DoST’s pandemic distraction!@517
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