The chairperson of the House Committee on Science and Technology vowed Saturday (Sept, 19) to push for increased funding allocation for the country's research and development centers under the Department of Science and Technology's proposed budget for 2021.
Bohol 2nd District Rep. Erico Aristotle Aumentado urged his colleagues to augment the budget of the DOST, citing the need to "invest" in the agency's research programs to help prevent a health crisis, such as the pandemic that is gripping the country right now.
"Congress should allot funds for the promotion of effective research to prevent this health crisis such as the creation of Department of Virology under DOST in which I am a co-author of the in the House of Representatives and establishing pandemic and research hospitals --- at least one in Luzon, one in Visayas and one in Mindanao --- and I am a principal author of the bill containing these proposals. These will help us move forward," he said in a text message.
He said the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) should not have slashed the DOST's original proposed budget of P36.269 billion for next year.
He laments that the DBM only gave the DOST an allocation P23.89 billion with reduced funding for the agency’s research and development institutes.
He noted that next year, the earmarked funding for research centers is only P2.411 billion compared to this year’s funding of P2.488 billion, he said.
"We should invest in the research program of DOST, even the basic research done by National Research Council of the Philppines," Aumentado stressed.
In a budget briefing, DOST Secretary Fortunato dela Peña told the House Committee on Appropriations that with the budget cut, the implementation of the programs by the Philippine Nuclear Research Institute (PNRI), the Metals Industry Research and Development Center (MIRDC), and the Philippine Textile Research Institute (PTRI) will be affected.
Muntinlupa lone District Rep. Rozanno Rufino Biazon also earlier sought to augment the DOST's research and development budget, citing that it is a "necessity" given the pandemic crisis that is affecting both the national and global landscape.