“It’s a big pity as it is a big waste to just let it happen that way,” Science and Technology Secretary Fortunato dela Peña said as he commented on what has long been decried by many as obtaining in the results of many research and development efforts in the country.
The official said the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) is doing several measures to address the non-utilization of research and technology results packaged research institutions in the country.
“We are coordinating with line agencies to roll out these research results,” dela Peña said here recently. “We are also reaching out to companies and enterprises to make use of them,” he added.
He said these companies and enterprises will be enjoined to grant certain compensations and licensing to the owner of the researches conducted. He said he is certain that the utilization of these untouched research results can do a lot of good for the improvement of their own undertakings.
Dela Peña was here to visit the leading agencies belonging to the science community that included the Central Luzon State University, Philippine Carabao Center, Philippine Center for Postharvest Development and Mechanization, and Philippine Rice Research Institute. He said he is going around for the establishment of more research and development centers particularly among state universities and colleges.
But he emphasized that these centers would be enjoined to conduct research and development which are commodity focused. This means, he said, that commodities abundant in their respective areas must be the prevailing subjects of R and D.
He said the big step being undertaken by his department as far as conducting researches are concerned is by encouraging people on the ground, particularly those in the local government units, to conduct “research for development”.
This means, he explained, for them to identify areas or specific problems being encountered that need research and development eff orts for their appropriate solutions. He explained that the common practice among research institutions is conducting researches which they contemplate to be needing to address certain problems.
“Those on the ground, the farmers, the health workers, and others do encounter many problems that need to be attended to,” dela Peña said. “Through bottom-up research and development identification of problems can do a lot a good to solve their more pressing problems and given impetus for their advancement,” he added.
The DOST secretary also said that the establishment of science high schools in each of the regions in the country had already been completed as of August last year.
He said, though, what remains to be done along this line is for the possible establishment of a science high school in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao as requested by officials in the region.
“As we know, they have their own system. What we are determining are the steps that must be done for providing assistance along this line. We are certain that it can be realized soon,” he said.
He said there are now about 5,000 scholars in science high schools in the country. They are expected to be pursuing higher education on science and technology, engineering and mathematics, he said.
