The Department of Science and Technology (DOST) has asked Congress to “overhaul" the National Metrology Act of 2003 to ensure that the country’s national measurement system is "updated, in place, and capable” to mitigate disasters and promote public safety.
DOST Secretary Fortunato de la Peña sought the passage of the proposed Modernized National Measurement System Act seeking to transform the National Metrological Division (NMD) into the National Measurement Institute of the Philippines (NMPhil) to ensure the precision, accuracy and reliability of the measurements and measuring instruments in the country.
"Because metrology is so intricately connected with our daily lives, there is a need to make sure that the system that creates and makes use of these measurements is updated, in place, and capable. The bill that we are pushing forth will be able to do just that,” he said in a Senate Webinar on "Modernizing the Philippines National Measurement System”.
"The old law that previously governed our country’s National Measurement System (NMS), RA 9236, needs to be overhauled to meet the current demands of the stakeholders in metrology, as well as to adapt to the technological leaps and bounds made by scientists, engineers, and policy-makers working on metrology, not only in the Philippines but in the world,” he stressed.
He noted the proposed law on the Modernized National Measurement System “will make our country’s measurement system at par" with its Southeast Asian and Asia-Pacific neighbors.
With the transformation of the NMD of the Industrial Technology Development Institute (ITDI) into the NMIPhil and its subsequent designation as the country’s National Metrology Institute (NMI) as proposed under the bill, the NMI will be given more functions and corresponding powers to ensure the efficient implementation of our NMS, de la Peña said.
The bill also sought the modernization of the Physical Resources and Operational Techniques of the NMIPhil through the acquisition of state-of-the-art equipment, facilities, and systems, he said.
It is also aimed at strengthening the international linkages and affiliations of our country with the rest of the world in the field of Metrology, he added.
"As a member of the international community, we have a role to play in making sure that the measurements done here in the Philippines are on the same level of correctness as that with other countries. This is a way of showing our competence in producing reliable measurement results that directly affect the quality of products we export to foreign markets,” de la Peña said.