STS

• The term "science" is derived from the Latin word scientia, which means knowledge.
• Pres. Carlos P. Garcia (1957 - 1961)


  • Lack of support of experimental work
  • Marginal budget for scientific research
  • Low salaries of scientists employed by the government
  • Established the National Science Development Board
• Pres. Ferdinand Marcos (1965 - 1986)


  • Directed the Department of Education to revitalize the science courses in public high schools
  • Channelled additional funds to support projects in applied sciences and science education
  • Proclaimed 35 hectares in Bicutan, Taguig, Rizal as the site of the Philippine Science Community
  • Scholarships for graduate and undergraduate science scholars, and workshops on fisheries and oceanography
  • Added the Philippine Coconut Research Institute to the NSDB to modernize the coconut industry
  • Support for the promotion of scientific research and invention with Presidential Decree No. 49, s. 1972
  • Enacted a law under Presidential Decree No. 1003-A, s. 1976 to establish the National Academy of Science and Technology
  • Enacted a law on the completion of the National Agriculture and Life Sciences Research Complex at the University of the Philippines at Los Baños (Executive Order No. 840, s. 1982)
  • Established the Mindanao and Visayas campuses of the Philippine Science High School to encourage careers in science and technology
  • Established other research institutes like PAGASA, National Grains Authority, Philippine Council for Agricultural Research, Philippine National Oil Company among others
• Pres. Corazon Aquino (1986 - 1992)


  • National Science and Technology Authority was replaced by the Department of Science and Technology
  • Science and technology's role in economic recovery and sustained economic growth was highlighted
  • Created the Presidential Task Force for Science and Technology which came up with the first Science and Technology Master Plan or STMP
  • Executive Order No.128 abolished R.A. No. 3859, also known as the "Philippine Inventors Incentive Act"
  • Gave assistance to Filipino inventors through giving financial aid, patent application assistance, legal assistance, and to help inventors market their products domestically and abroad
  • R.A. 6655 or the Free Public Secondary Education Act of 1988 opened doors to free education up to the secondary level
  • "Science for the Masses Program" which aimed at scientific and technological literacy among Filipinos
• Pres. Fidel V. Ramos (1992 - 1998)


  • Significant increase in personnel specializing in the science and technology field
  • Addition of Philippine Science High Schools in Visayas and Mindanao
  • Government provided 3,500 scholarships for students who were taking up professions related to S&T
  • Schools were becoming more modernized and updated with the addition of high-tech equipment for students
  • Priority for S&T personnel increased when Magna Carta for Science and Technology Personnel (Republic Act No. 8439) was established
  • Award was published in order to give incentives and rewards for people who have been influential in the field of S&T (Inventors and Inventions Incentives Act or Republic Act No. 7459)
  • Programs such as National Program for Gifted Filipino Children in Science and Technology
  • Enactment of a law creating a nationwide system of high schools specializing in the field of science and engineering (Science and Technology Scholarship Law of 1994)
  • Enacted the Intellectual Property Code of the Philippines (Republic Act No. 8293)
• Pres. Joseph Estrada (1998 - 2001)


  • Launched a full-scale program based on cost-effective irrigation technologies
  • Establishment of one science high school in every province
  • Advancement of industries and schools into the Internet age
  • Passage of the e-Commerce Act
• Pres. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo (2001 - 2010)


  • The science and technology sector of the Philippines was dubbed as the "golden age" during her term
  • Numerous laws and projects that concerns both the environment and science to push technology as a tool to increase the country's economic level
  • The term "Filipinnovation" was the coined term used in helping the Philippines to be an innovation hub in Asia
  • Science Technology and Innovations (STI) was developed further by strengthening the schools and education system such as the Philippine Science High School (PSHS), which focuses in science, technology and mathematics in their curriculum
  • Imposes Republic Act 10601 which improves the Agriculture and Fisheries Sector through Mechanization (AFMech)
• Dr. Arturo Alcaraz


  • Volcanologist specializing in geothermal energy development
  • In 1967, Arturo Alcaraz and team powered an electric light bulb using steam-powered electricity. This was the first geothermal power generated in the Philippines
• Julian Banzon (1908 - 1988)


  • Filipino chemist
  • Researched methods of producing alternative fuels
  • Experimented with the production of ethyl esters fuels from sugarcane and coconut
• Pedro Escuro (1923 - )

  • Filipino scientist
  • Best known for his isolation of nine rice varieties, thus was renowned by developing rice breeding in the country
  • The Pedro Escuro rice varieties are: Milpal 4, HBD-2, Azmil 26 and C-22 and C-18, C4-63, C4-137, C-168 and C-12
• Dr. Francisco Fronda (1896 - 1986)


  • Known as the Father of poultry science in the Philippines
  • Improved methods of production for the poultry and livestock industry
• Felix Maramba


  • Built a coconut oil-fueled power generator
  • Developer of one of the world's most profitable biogas systems
• Luz Oliveros Belardo (1906 - 1999)


  • Filipino chemist
  • Researched the phytochemical properties of plants in the Philippines for natural products, essential oils, and the medicinal qualities
• Emerita De Guzman


  • Filipino scientist
  • Researched the propagation of pure macapuno trees
  • Her research led to the faster propagation of pure macapuno trees and increased macapuno nut production from 3-5 macapuno nuts to 14-19 nuts (1980)
  • Invented tissue culture techniques for the rapid propagation of abaca and banana plants
• Dr. Fe Del Mundo (1911 - 2011)


  • Filipino doctor
  • Credited with studies that lead to the invention of an improved incubator and a jaundice relieving device
• Gregorio Zara (1902 - 1978)


  • Famous Filipino Scientist
  • Invented the two-way television telephone or videophone (1955) patented as a "photo phone signal separator network"
  • Discovered the physical law of electrical kinetic resistance called the Zara effect (around 1930)
  • Invented an airplane engine that ran on plain alcohol as fuel (1952)