Philippines needs to reverse science and technology slump

Manila: The Philippines needs to address a shortfall in innovation as well as produce more science and technology workers if it ever hopes to catch up with the rest of the world in this field, a senior lawmaker said.

Reacting to the results of the recent 2012 Global Innovation Index that placed the Philippines near the bottom of the list of 141 countries in the field of innovation, Senator Edgardo Angara said the government of President Benigno Aquino - needs to work on enhancing the country’s capabilities in science and technology (S&T).

The 2012 Global Innovation Index--prepared by the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) and the INSEAD Business School--noted the Philippines as 95th among the 141 economies surveyed. “This represents a four-step slump for the country compared to its 2011 rankings,” said Angara

Angara, chair of the Senate Committee on Science and Technology (ComSTE), said the current economic growth the country is perceived to be experiencing stands to lose its momentum because it loses steam on innovation and adjusting to the rapidly developing changes in technology.

“Our economy is currently experiencing an upswing,” said Angara, noting that increased government spending on infrastructure has helped the country’s economy grow by 6.4 per cent during the first quarter of the year.

“But without a long-term plan to address the so-called innovation gap and cultivate a national ecosystem for S&T and R&D (research and development), it will be harder for us to maintain this momentum for economic growth in the long-term,” continued the veteran lawmaker

In the 2012 Global Innovation Index, the Philippines received low marks for the study’s institutions and human capital and research pillars.

Switzerland, Sweden, and Singapore for the second year running, led in overall innovation performance. The report ranks 141 countries/economies on the basis of their innovation capabilities.

The country has been losing its best minds to overseas employment which is more lucrative.

The Department of Labour and Employment — Bureau of Labour and Employment Statistics (DOLE-BLES) showed that migration of S&T workers from the Philippines has more than doubled in the last 12 years, with “nurses and midwives” and “engineers” representing the top-two groups who left the country.

Dr Filma G. Brawner, director of the Science Education Institute (SEI), said that their studies showed that in Saudi Arabia alone, there on the 9,066 Filipino science and technology (S&T) graduates employed by the Middle East country.

“Coming second as top destination for S&T OFWs (overseas Filipino worker) is the UAE ... Most of the S&T OFWs that go to UAE are engineers at 45 per cent with nurses placed second at 42 per cent. Health and computing professionals comprise the remaining S&T OFW (overseas Filipino worker) populace in UAE.

Angara also said experts have contended that the Philippines has not been able to corner as much investments as other emerging Asian economies because of key constraints in infrastructure and the regulatory and business environment.

Angara said: “Efforts are underway to address these issues, but we need to think harder on how our economy can change from being consumption-driven to becoming innovation-heavy.”