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In a mutual accord sealed through a Memorandum of Agreement led by Department of Science and Technology Secretary Mario Montejo and University of the Philippines President Alfredo Pascual, the country’s lead science agency and premier university will build a mass railway transit that will run on a two-kilometer stretch across key spots in the sprawling 493-hectare campus.

Called the Automated Guideway Transit or AGT, the rail-based local mass transit is very similar to the MRT and LRT, except that it is fully automated, driverless, and runs on a single rail which acts as its sole support and guideway.

According to Sec. Montejo, the first AGT prototype tested on DOST grounds has earned the nod of President Benigno Aquino III. “We have redesigned this second prototype as an improvement of the first,” Sec. Montejo said.

Montejo also informed that the prototype, to initially run on a 500-meter track, will have 50-60 kph speed, but will later increase to 100-120 kph in the next phase.

UP Pres. Pascual revealed that the benefits of AGT has been proven across the world, such as in Japan, Canada, UK, and US. “According to DOST studies, local AGT costs just a fraction compared with the imported kind,” Pascual said.

“DOST believes that local S&T can work to respond to people’s need,” Pascual told, “and UP is open to be the ‘laboratory’ for such an idea.”

The DOST-UP railway transit project is a collaborative study to determine the feasibility of the AGT as a low-cost transportation. “DOST and UP aim that in the future, the AGT will be included not only in the people’s transportation choices but also in their lifestyle,” Pascual said.

The MOA signing was followed by a groundbreaking ceremony held at Jacinto cor. Lakandula Streets, UP Diliman campus. Montejo and Pascual were joined by DOST-Metals Industry Research and Development Center Director Arthur Lucas Cruz, UP Diliman Chancellor Caesar Saloma, DOST-Philippine Council for Industry, Energy, and Emerging Technology Research and Development Director Amelia Guevara, and UP Vice President for Development Elvira Zamora.

DOST Asec. Robert Dizon, project leader, said that President Aquino wants the AGT project to be tested thoroughly. "The President wants quality to be translated to commuter safety and transport reliability, " he said.

The AGT is one of DOST’s major projects that showcase Filipino ingenuity, creativity, and competitiveness.

“We save so much when we develop technologies locally,” emphasized Sec. Montejo. “These technologies highlight the fact that we Filipinos are very competitive.” (Framelia V. Anonas, S&T Media Service)

MOA signing og AGT

MOA signing (L-R) UP VP for Development Elvira Zamora, UP Diliman Chancellor Caesar Saloma, UP Pres. Alfredo Pascual, DOSt Sec. Mario Montejo,DOST-PCIEERD Executive Director Amelia Guevara, and DOST-MIRDC Arthur Lucas Cruz. (Photo by Gerry Palad) [More photos at STII (DOST) Facebook ]

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The Department of Science and Technology is ready to make ICT as enabling tool to help expand and sustain the burgeoning business process outsourcing industry.

“We believe DOST has the mandate and the knowledge resources to raise the number of BPO workforce in a significant way”, DOST Secretary Mario G. Montejo said.

Montejo dispelled fears that ICT will take a backseat in government development priorities following the transfer to DOST of the former Commission on Information and Communication Technology and renamed it as ICT office.

He assured leaders of the Business Processing Association Philippines in a meeting July 5 that EO 47 creating the Information and Communications Technology Office or ICTO, will result to “leaner, meaner planning and management” of government ICT resources to enhance e-governance and industry growth.

He cited the ongoing joint development program with the University of the Philippines on a software that can help aspiring BPO workers to polish up on their accents right in the comfort of their homes.
The $15-billion BPO industry directly employs about 600,000 Filipinos. It is still expanding. But lack of qualified people threatens its growth. Only 7 percent of applicants reportedly are accepted. One of the main reasons for the high attrition rate is flawed diction, an earlier DOST report said.

“The English Proficiency Training (EPT) Software can boost the still growing BPO industry with a large pool of aspiring BPO workers”, he added..

Experts in electronics and communications, and English teaching at the University of the Philippines in Diliman are working on the EPT software. It is being designed in such a way that a prospective BPO worker can go through self-training to correct diction or accent until he gets it right.

“We believe that technology intervention will play a big role in the overall strategy to develop globally competitive manpower and help increase the BPO acceptance rate from the current level”, DOST spokesperson Raymund E. Liboro added.

EO 47 essentially harmonizes government ICT policies, programs, and resources that tended to overlap and drag desired development momentum into higher value added services and products, he added.

“We assure the public especially the IT-BPO industry that the new ICTO provides us the path to a leaner and more efficient ICT regime that’s committed to transparent and reliable e-governance system and industry growth”, Liboro explained.


S&T Media Service

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Department of Science and Technology Undersecretary for S&T Services Fortunato T. dela Peña was elected as Chair for the 15th Session of the prestigious UN Commission on Science and Technology for Development (UNCSTD) during its 14th Session in Geneva on May 27.

The election of Usec. dela Peña serves as international recognition of the country's initiatives in promoting science and technology, as well as the use of information and communications technology for development.

UNCSTD, a UN agency tasked to promote science and technology for development, is mandated by the Economic and Social Council to oversee the system-wide follow-up, review and assessment of progress in the implementation of outcomes of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS).

UNCSTD addresses issues pertaining to the problem of digital divide and internet governance, and helps promote technologies that address global challenges.

The Permanent Mission provided full support to ensure Undersecretary Dela Peña's election.

 

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DOST Secretary Mario G. Montejo saluted the inauguration of the first online science and technology library in the Philippines in ceremonies held in conjunction with the 24th anniversary of the Science and Technology Information Institute at the DOST Complex, Taguig City.

Called STARBOOKS, or the S&T Academic and Research-Based Openly-Operated Kiosk Stations, this new academic resource for students and researchers shall be equipped with key access portals in strategic areas in the Philippines. Users can have access to the latest data and information contained at DOST (SciNeT), Philippine eLib project sources, freely-available online resources, and subscribed databases.

“[STARBOOKS] shall serve as our humble contribution to the world of education and science. The fact that time and distance have been neutralized as limiting factors for undertaking research is a big benefit especially for our young, intellectually curious minds,” Secretary Montejo noted.
He added, “We at the Department of Science and Technology shall always support initiatives that encourage our people to develop new ideas because of this kind of knowledge explosion, and even inspire one’s capacity for entrepreneurship and research for socio-economic development.”

Since his assumption of the top S&T portfolio in government, Secretary Montejo has aligned the priority thrusts and mandated tasks and responsibilities of the Department of Science and Technology toward providing science- and engineering-based solutions to national problems.

As a result, this outward-oriented approach has won for DOST broad cross-sectoral support for Secretary Montejo’s programs to address issues such as the recent rash of freshwater fishkills in Luzon, the unmitigated spread of water hyacinths in large waterways, flooding, malnutrition, and the availability of potable water for marginal communities throughout the country. (Alan Taule)

DOST Secretary Mario G. Montejo during the STARBOOKS launch at the Science and Technology Information Institute (Photo by Louise Ian de los Reyes, STII)