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Incoming DOST chief envisions science for the countryside, may drop Diwata if too costly

Friday, June 10, 2016 12:00 AM    Views : 1193by:Jose Bimbo F. Santos, InterAksyon.com
Incoming Science Secretary Fortunato de la Pena (photo courtesy of Henri de Leon, DOST-STII)
 

MANILA, Philippines -- They call him "Boy." Or "Ka Boy."

Meet Fortunato dela Pena, incoming secretary of the Department of Science and Technology, who could well be Mr. Congeniality himself.

And, by the accounts who have worked with him, his religiosity (he is a lay minister at his Quezon City church) is marked by genuine compassion. A close aide recalled that when he was hospitalized, Dela Pena not only visited but prayed over him for his recovery.

It was therefore not surprising that his colleagues' reaction of his appointment to lead the DOST was overwhelmingly positive.

"Talon kami nang talon nu'ng narinig namin ang balita. Ganu'n kami kasaya sa appointment niya (We were jumping with joy on hearing the news. That's how happy we were at his appointment)," said Jona Bernal of the DOST-Science and Technology Information Institute.

Dela Pena began his career in 1982 as planning officer at the National Science and Technology Authority, to which he was recruited by then Minister of Science Emil Javier and served the DOST as undersecretary for four administrations.

But although well-known in the scientific community, the appointment of "FTP," as he is known within the agency, by President-elect Rodrigo Duterte came out of left field as he had retired in 2014 and had been largely written off by many as a prospect.

His closest brush to the post before this was after the nearly decades-long tenure of Estrella Alabastro under then President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

"The thought came to my mind when there was a change in administration from Arroyo to Pnoy (President Benigno Aquino III) because there were people who said ‘we nominated you'," Dela Pena said. "But hindi naman nangyari (it didn't happen) and when I retired I thought that was it, that it was the end."

Aquino gave the portfolio to now outgoing Secretary Mario Montejo, a mechanical engineer who came from outside the DOST.

With Dela Pena, many in the DOST are relieved that an old hand will lead the agency. "Lahat kasi bow kay FTP kasi he came from the ranks talaga. Marami rin ang nagsasabi na long overdue na rin dapat ‘yung appointment niya (All of us bow to FTP because he really came from the ranks. Many also say his appointment is long overdue)," Bernal said.

Dela Pena said the appointment came after someone from the President-elect's circle asked him to submit his CV a week before Duterte first convened his cabinet.

"Perhaps the long experience I have with the department and also my background," Dela Pena said when asked why he think he was given the post.

Grassroots-oriented

Dela Pena intimated that he intends to make the DOST more grassroots-oriented, which could be seen as a departure from Montejo's leadership, which pursued a number of aspirational scientific initiatives, foremost of which is the successful Diwata microsatellite program.

"The changes will be aligned with the priorities of President Duterte" Dela Pena said when asked what changes he plans to implement.

Asked about the fate of Diwata, Dela Pena was tentative and noncommittal.

"Actually, hindi ko pa siya napag-iisipan (I haven't thought of it yet). But we have to look at the benefit-to-cost," Dela Pena said. "I teach engineering economics and we have been trained that in every project, you look at the benefit-to-cost ratio. That is one of the changes that I would like to see, that our projects would really undergo benefit-to-cost analysis."

When asked if he would drop the Diwata project if it proves costly after due analysis, Dela Pena said he is open to the possibility.

"Maybe, because we have to make the benefits of science and technology be felt. If the resources are limited, we have to make certain sacrifices," Dela Pena said. "I want to expand more services that will really be felt by the people so I think there will be more allocations to the region."

If there is a program that Dela Pena readily supports, it is DOST's loan facility to small entrepreneurs, dubbed SET-UP or Small Enterprises Technology Upgrading Program. Last year, SET-UP forked over P2.2 billion in interest-free loans to some 3,000 micro, small and medium-scale entrepreneurs.

"That has to continue. Maybe the changes there will be in the form of moving up in terms of scale and looking at how small firms can even grow bigger," Dela Pena said.

In addition, Dela Pena said he is also keen on expanding and even further institutionalizing DOST's disaster prevention and mitigation programs as embedded in PAGASA and Project Noah.

 "We have to continue many aspects of that because they are really needed," Dela Pena said. "My thinking is that we should find a way that these projects will become more institutionalized like recommending a new organization that will handle it or give it to a new organization kasi as of now some of these are researches under the UP."

To amplify the role of science and technology, Dela Pena said he wants the DOST to conduct more beneficial research and development programs, an area he is also well-known for.

"The research institutions are not supposed to be concentrated in the urban areas," Dela Pena said, adding that he also wants to see more DOST scholars from the countryside.

In terms of personnel, Dela Pena said he plans to move up certain people within DOST and put in a legal expert in the management team.

"There are certain areas where we are very weak such as in terms of legal services. We badly need a lawyer in the team," he said.

Dela Pena also brushed off perceptions that Duterte, who once said he wants Algebra, Calculus, and Trigonometry replaced with Business Math, has a low regard for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, or STEM, courses.

"Even if you focus on business mathematics, you will still need the algebra and all these things so we'll just do what we are supposed to do as a developing country which is to prepare for science and technology," Dela Pena said.

To fully harness the science and technology field, Dela Pena said he is also keen on forging more partnerships with the private sector as well as the Trade industry.

"We cannot really grow as a country without a strong science and technology base," Dela Pena said.

Compared to other cabinet portfolios, the DOST may be low-key, not-as-newsy (except during typhoon season), unsexy.

But for the country to move up the value chain -- whether from being consumption-driven to becoming an industry-based economy, or delivering higher-grade services such as analytics from plain-vanilla voice BPO -- a vibrant science and technology industry will need to play an active role in energizing the academe, engaging the private sector, and broadening the entrepreneurial class through the help of modern technology.

Dela Pena will definitely have his job cut out for him. But it's a job he has prepared for, for a long, long time.

Source: http://interaksyon.com/article/128887/profile--incoming-dost-chief-envisions-science-for-the-countryside-may-drop-diwata-if-too-costly

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