- CHAPTER THREE -

PRECOLONIAL PERIOD

People were already engaged in:

 Farming – in the highland, rice and vegetables were grown in terraced rice paddies that
utilized spring water
 Fishing
 Mining
 Weaving
 Pottery
 Crafting – Natives made tools out of STONES for sawing, drilling, and polishing. Later,
they made use of COPPER, GOLD, BRONZE, and IRON to craft metal tools.
 Shipbuilding and Seafaring – expertise which allowed them to trade with
neighboring regions such as Borneo, Malacca, parts of the Malay Peninsula, and China

Products that were exchanged: JARS, RATTAN, and TOBACCO

Banaue Rice Terraces – among the engineering marvels made during the precolonial period

SPANISH COLONIAL PERIOD

Modernization of science and technology began when the country was colonized by Spain

Real Sociedad Economica de los Amigos del Pais de Filipinas (Royal Economic Society
of Friends of the Philippines)

– founded by Gov. Gen. Jose Basco y Vargas under the authority of the Royal Decree
of 1780
– composed of private individuals and gov officials  functioned like a modern national
research council
– promoted the cultivation of several crops and the development of the silk industry
– provided with funds which were used to provide incentives for successful experiments
and inventions for the improvement of agriculture and other industries
– funded the publication of scientific literature, trips of Filipino scientists from Spain to
the Philippines, and foreign and local scholarships for Filipinos

Spaniards’ contributions to the Philippines:

1) Sanitation
2) More advanced agricultural practices
3) Roads, bridge, and buidings via polo y servicio
4) Modern innovations (i.e. tram networks, electric lights, newspapers, and the banking
system) by the latter half of the 19th century
5) Offices and commissions to undertake studies and regulations on various area such as
mines, Philippine flora, agriculture, geology, and chemical analysis of mineral waters
6) Meteorological studies promoted by the Jesuits
 7) Introduction to formal education by establishing colleges and universities
8) Study of medicine

Manila Observatory

– founded by the Jesuits in 1865 at the Ateneo de Manila University

– issued the first public typhoon warning in the country in 1879
– was made an official institution in 1884
– made the central station of the Philippine Weather Bureau in 1901
– remained under the Jesuit scientists and sponsored not only meteorological but also
seismological and astronomical studies

Polo y servicio – system of forced labor required of every male native aged 16 to 60 years old

Philippine Weather Bureau – set up by the American colonial government

University of Santo Tomas (UST)

– one of the world’s oldest Catholic universities

– founded by Miguel de Benavides in 1611 to establish a formal space to teach theology,
philosophy, and the humanities (and medicine and pharmacy was later offered)

Dr. Leon Ma. Guerrero

– one of the first pharmacy graduates of the UST School of Pharmacy

– extensive work on medicinal plants and their uses  “Father of Philippine Botany and
Pharmacy”

Suez Canal – opened in 1869 and made travel & trade easier

Ilustrados – wealthy Filipinos who studied abroad

Early 1880s – Philippine nationalist movement was founded

Propaganda-based movement/Propaganda movement

– led by ilustrados (i.e. Jose Rizal, Marcelo H. del Pilar, etc.) established networks in
Europe and asked the Spanish gov for reforms in the Phil  failed and incited the
Philippine Revolution
– moved to Asia and established headquarters in Hong Kong

Mariano Ponce

– representative of the Revolutionary Government of the Philippines in 1898

– established connections w Spanish intellectuals and wrote the book Cuestion Filipina:
Una Exposicion Historico-Critica de Hechos Relativos a la Guerra de la Independencia
(1901)

Cuestion Filipina: Una Exposicion Historico-Critica de Hechos Relativos a la

Guerra de la Independencia – expresses the Philippine’s struggle for independence
Rizal’s death brought attention to the Ilustrados’ cause—to prioritize education.

AMERICAN COLONIAL PERIOD

Bureau of Government Laboratories

– established by the Philippine Commission of the American colonial administration on

July 1, 1901
– replaced the Laboratorio Municipal founded by the Spanish colonial government
– renamed to BUREAU OF SCIENCE on October 26, 1905
– dealt w/ the study of tropical diseases such as leprosy, tuberculosis, cholera, and malaria
– handled studies on the economic value of tropical products, the nutritional value of
foods, and the testing of Philippine minerals and road building materials among others

Philippine Journal of Science – published by the bureau in 1906 that reported work done in
local lab and scientific developments abroad which were relevant to the Phil

Other established government institutions:

 Bureau of Health
 Bureau of Mines
 Bureau of Forestry
 Weather Bureau
 Bureau of Public Works
 Bureau of Agriculture
 Bureau of Coast and Geodetic Survey
 Bureau of Plant Industry
 Bureau of Animal Industry

University of the Philippines (UP) [June 18, 1908]

– national educational institution, along with organized faculties in the areas of sciences,
arts, medicine, philosophy, and literature, established on June 18, 1908
– first colleges to be organized under UP: The College of Agriculture, School of
Forestry, School of Pharmacy, and the Graduate School of Tropical
Medicine and Public Health

National Research Council of the Philippines (NRCP) – established on December 8,

1933 to actively involve the promotion of scientific researches in the country

Research councils and scholarship grants were given (for advanced training aboard). Basic
and applied research in the field of medicine and agriculture also received significant support
during the American occupation.

Post-war to Present

There has been little innovation in the education and training of scientists and engineers due to
the conservative nature of self-regulation of professional associations
Philippine Bureau of Science – transformed into the INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE in 1947

Institute of Nutrition & Science Foundation of the Philippines (SFP) – established

under the Office of the President

Commission on Volcanology (COMVOL) – created and placed under NRCP in 1952

Challenges during the early post-war years:

1) Diminished educational and scientific progress

2) Lack of funding, planning, and coordination of government-sponsored scientific research

Science Act of 1958

– enacted by the Philippine Congress to address the 2nd challenge

– established the NATIONAL SCIENCE DEVELOPMENT BOARD (NSDB) to formulate
policies for the development of science and technology programs, and coordinate with
different agencies
– founded the Philippine Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC) and the National Institute of
Science and Technology (NIST)

Science agencies under NSDB:

 Philippine Investors Commission

 Philippine Coconut Research Institute
 Philippine Textile Research Institute
 Forest Products Research Industries Development Institute
 Philippine Science High School (PSHS)
 Metals Industry Research and Development Center (MIRDC)
 Philippine Council for Agriculture and Resources Research (PCARR)
 NRCP
 SFP