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Stronger manufacturing industry will reverse aging economy, says DOST advisory body PDF Print E-mail
Written by Angelica A. de Leon, S & T Media Service, DOST-STII   
Wednesday, 13 February 2013 09:34

The economy may be backsliding, but this situation can be reversed to make the country coast along a route that leads to national progress.

This was how  Academician Dr. Michael Tan, University of the Philippines professor and member of the National Academy of Science and Technology (NAST), an advisory body of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST), summed up the NAST-organized Round Table Discussion (RTD)on the country’s economic situationer.  During the discussion, the term “development progeria” was used to describe the Philippine economy in comparison with progeria, a medical condition seen in young children that causes them to age faster than normal.

The economy at  present is said to be “a young economy mimicking a mature one,” like a child afflicted with progeria, and this may worsen the country’s poverty situation, according to National Scientist Raul V.  Fabella.

A child suffering from progeria develops an enlarged head, small and wrinkled face, baldness, and dry skin, among others. However, despite this seemingly rapid aging process, the patient displays limited growth, remaining small in stature with limited movement.  The patient remains in this condition until death which mostly occurs in his teenage years. 

“Aging” economy can be reversed
The Philippine economy displays similar symptoms, according to Fabella.  He noted that its limited growth is due to several factors, namely the depreciation of the Indian rupee which threatens the local BPO industry, the stock market and real estate bubbles, the country’s exclusion from the list of preferred sites for direct foreign investments in tradables, and the overvaluation of the peso, among others.

Fabella, citing studies by Rodrik in 2008 and by Berg and Miao in 2010, said that a 10 percent overvaluation of the currency leads to a growth reduction of 0.2 percent.

These factors hinder industries, thus limiting the movement of business activities and making the economy dry and wrinkled instead of being fresh and rosy.

In his synthesis of the discussion however, Dr. Tan said that unlike progeria which is incurable, development progeria is receptive to treatment, and thus can be cured. 

One kind of treatment or solution suggested during the RTD was to strengthen the manufacturing industry.

Strengthening manufacturing industry
Dr. Ramon L. Clarete, dean of the University of the Philippines Diliman School of Economics, suggested that efforts should focus on export-oriented manufacturing industry.

Sixty percent of the total number of exporting firms in the country comprises small and medium-scale enterprises (SMEs) that generate 53 percent of total employment volume and make up 99.6 percent of all registered businesses in the country.

Additionally, Calixto V. Chikiamco, president of the Foundation for Economic Freedom, suggested a manufacturing industry rooted on agricultural growth and productivity, or agro-industrial growth. “Agricultural growth and development supports the manufacturing sector by providing a higher domestic market, affordable labor, and supply of raw materials,” said Chikiamco.

As one of its priority programs, DOST leads and supports industry development initiatives, including those that strengthen local manufacturing. Through its Small Enterprises Technology Upgrading Program (SETUP), the agency provides a package of technology assistance to bolster the productivity and competitiveness of SMEs including those engaged in exports. Among the industries DOST’s SETUP currently supports include food processing, metals, ICT and semicon, furniture, agriculture, aquaculture, among others. 

However, to promote net exports, Dr. Clarete cited the significance of peso undervaluation, echoing Fabella’s earlier statement about overvaluation as one of the factors negatively affecting the economy. “When you have a low exchange rate, and you’re in the export business, your revenues in pesos will be lower. And then your cost are in pesos so your profits are going to be squeezed. So the lower the exchange rate or the stronger the peso, the lower would be your profits,” Dr. Clarete explained.
 
S&T good news up at DOSTkusyon PDF Print E-mail
Written by George Robert Valencia III, S&T Media Service, DOST-STII   
Wednesday, 13 February 2013 09:31

What’s S&T good news? Simply put, it is about what science and technology, or S&T, can do to improve the lives of Filipinos. And the better news: technologies locally developed by our own scientists and researchers are available to help do this.

Now we can get our regular dose of S&T good news from our own scientists and experts through the Department of Science and Technology’s (DOST) “DOSTkusyon,” a bi-monthly press conference organized by DOST’s Science and Technology Information Institute. Launched this February at the La Breza Hotel in Quezon City, this year’s first “DOSTkusyon” had DOST Secretary Mario Montejo introducing the “Smarter Philippines”, DOST’s latest umbrella program that focuses on using information technology to develop or innovate products or processes for particular sectors.

“DOSTkusyon is an important step for DOST [because] there are a lot of developments going on inside [the system] that we would like to share to people in the country,” said DOST spokesperson Raymund Liboro, also director of DOST-STII.

“DOSTkusyon” provides venue for the media to get new and important S&T information from DOST’s various offices and agencies. Aside from information materials, DOST-STII also provides online streaming for journalists who cannot attend the conference.

“DOSTkusyon” also featured the newly installed Advanced Device and Materials Testing Laboratory or ADMATEL at the DOST’s Industrial Technology Development Institute, DOST’s oldest research and development agency. The ADMATEL houses state-of-the-art facilities for failure analysis to provide services to the local electronics and semiconductors industry. Undersecretary for Research and Development Amelia Guevara said that failure analysis, previously done abroad, is expensive and takes much time.

“DOSTkusyon”, through DOST-NCR Director Tess Fortuna, also gave an update on DOST’s Small Enterprise Technology Upgrading Program, or SETUP, that provides a package of technology support to  the country’s micro, small, and medium enterprises.

“I commend DOST-STII for organizing ‘DOSTkusyon’,” said Dr. Alejandro P. Melchor III, Smarter Philippines program leader and deputy director of DOST’s Information and Communications Technology Office. “This is a winsome and useful avenue to for us to present our projects to the media, and to also help us engage and communicate with the public, for whom our services are intended.”

For details on “DOSTkusyon,” please contact DOST-STII Public Affairs at (632) 837-2071 local 2148 or fax (632) 837-2195.
 
DOST targets greater interest in S&T via int’l science fair PDF Print E-mail
Written by Allan Mauro V. Marfal, S &T Media Service, DOST-STII   
Wednesday, 13 February 2013 09:21

Science awareness  in the Philippines is poised to take off for higher ground. With the mounting of the 1st Philippine International Science Fair,  a platform is raised for science and technology (S&T) specialists and students all over Asia-Pacific to exchange ideas and help develop among the Filipino youth a mindset geared toward S&T.


Organized by the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) through the Philippine Science High School (PSHS) in partnership with First Pacific Learning Academy, the international fair which carried the theme “Building a Culture of Science” was held from February 3-6, 2013 at the Ynares Center in Antipolo City.


One of the activities during the four-day event was the Community Fair where more than 60 students from the PSHS System as well as schools from select Asia-Pacific countries presented their research findings and shared their experiences in front of an audience composed of S & T enthusiasts, specialists, students, and the general public.


Aside from instilling among  students the value of research and its proper applications, the community fair also aimed to bridge the divide between science and the general public. In particular, the fair served as a training ground for the students on how to best present their research projects to a wider segment of the population, including those not well versed in S& T, and thus break the barriers faced by science researchers and communicators.


“It is heartening to note that young students are being trained in the rudiments of research. They are also encouraged to share their results in the larger science community. This recognizes and affirms the endeavors of our scholars,” DOST Secretary Mario G. Montejo said.


Dr. Josette P. Biyo, executive director of PSHS System, added that aside from popularizing science,  making it alive, and bringing it closer to the hearts of the people, the said fair hopes to inspire the youth to love science and encourage them to pursue S&T careers in the future.


Among the researches and studies  by PSHS  students presented during the Community Fair were . “Production of Seed-oil Derived Biodiesel from Garcinia magostana”  by Christine C. Bautista and Paradau Laarnie P. Valerio  of PSHS Main Campus, “Bioethanol Production from Enzymatically Saccharified Thysanolena latifolia (Tiger Grass)” by Janreich F. Miramon, Ruel Jan Anthony A. Moldez, and Matthew Martin P. Sanchez of PSHS-Central Visayas, and “Health Status of the High School Students in Balo-I, Lanao Del Norte Based on Body Mass Index” by Madelein D. Sorino and Jommalyn M. Tabal of PSHS-Central Mindanao.


Meanwhile, the following research projects were presented by students from other parts of the Asia-Pacific region:  “Realization of Structural Colors of Morpho Butterflies by Printing Photonic Crystal Nanobeads”  by students from Korea Science Academy of KAIST  in South Korea, “Experimental and Computational Studies in Porphyrin Derivatives for Dye-Sensitized Solar Cell”  by  students from Mahidol Wittayanusom School in Thailand, and “Solving Environmental Problem Using Quality Control Circles (QCC) by  students from Penang, Malaysia.


Aside from the Community Fair, the 1st Philippine International Science Fair also featured a Science Congress, Students Summit, exhibits, sessions with S & T experts, study critique, and other activities geared toward generating greater interest on S & T and  highlighting its indispensable role in solving pressing national problems.


The S & T experts who participated in the event were Dr. Edsel Maurice T. Salvaña, hailed as one of Ten Outstanding Young Persons of the World for 2012; National Scientist Dr. Lourdes J. Cruz, 2010 L’Oreal-UNESCO Woman of Science awardee; and  Earl Martin Valencia, named among the New Faces of Engineering for 2007 in Los Angeles.
 
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