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On first-ever National Innovation Day, DOST bats for passage of Science for Change Act
On first-ever National Innovation Day, DOST bats for passage of Science for Change Act
The Department of Science and Technology (DOST) batted Wednesday, April 21, for the passage of the proposed Science for Change Act to ensure that more funding will be committed for country’s research and development initiatives.
DOST Undersecretary for Research and Development Rowena Cristina L. Guevara made the call during the virtual celebration of the first-ever National Innovation Day, jointly conducted by the DOST, National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), and World Bank.
“There is a need for our industries to engage R&D and to engage partners in the academe and research and development institutes. It behooves the government to actually put money on this activity as R&D is a risky activity and you’re going to need the government to hold the private sector to get there,” she said.
"I believe that we have already made headways since we start the Science for Change program in 2016 but we need a bill to ensure its funding in the next five years,” she stressed.
She noted that the Science for Change Program (S4CP) was created to accelerate science, technology and innovation in the country "to keep up with developments in our time wherein the technology and innovation are the game changers.”
"Through R&D, it seeks to come up with new products and technologies to solve pressing national problems. The bottomline is that it will accelerate R&D not just in the higher education institution but in the collaboration between the academe and industry and R&D in the industry,”
The S4CP focuses on accelerated R&D program for capacity building of R&D institutions and industrial competitiveness.
The program is composed of four sub-programs: Niche Centers in the Regions (NICER) for R&D, RDLead Program, Collaborative Research and Development to Leverage Philippine Economy (CRADLE), and Business Innovation through S&T (BIST) for Industry Program.
House Ways and Means Chair Albay 2nd district Rep. Joey Sarte Salceda had disclosed that President Duterte’s Economic Development Cluster rallied behind his Science for Change Act to ensure "greater R&D funding in the future.”
The House leader said he aims to meet a target 1 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP) in research and development funding by 2025.
He noted that the 2021 General Appropriations Act funding for R&D "is at around P18 billion, still below that starting point.”
"But if we start now, the science for change formula can still help us meet the threshold by 2025. The Science for Change bill outlines how our R&D investments will be spent to improve every facet of the economy and society,” he said.
The bill has already been approved by the House Committee on Science and Technology, and is awaiting the issuance of a substitute bill to be discussed in plenary, he said.