Development of Science and Technology in The Philippines

Science and Technology and
Nation Building 4
Title of the lesson: Development of Science and Technology in the
Philippines
INTRODUCTION
When were Science and Technology known in the Philippines? Did our ancestors have
their own technologies? When did the Filipinos start learning about science?
The science and technology history in the Philippines started way back before the country
gained its independence from its colonizers. In history, these were the three eras of
Science and Technology in the Philippines. The Pre Spanish, Spanish, and American
Era.
OBJECTIVES
After studying this module, you should be able to:
1. Identify the science and technology that the early inhabitants in the Philippines
have;
2. Identify the contributions in Science and Technology of the Spaniards in the
Philippines;
3. Discover the influence of Americans in Science and Technology in the
Philippines;
4. Analyze what happened in Science and Technology in the Philippines after
World War II.
DISCUSSION
Development of Science and Technology in the Philippines

The science and technology history in the Philippines started way back before the country
gained its independence from our colonizers. The early inhabitants had their own culture,
the practice of faith, and indigenous science and technology. Let me show the list of
science and technology that our ancestors had.
Science and Technology in the Pre-Spanish Era
● Scientific knowledge is practiced in the way they plant their

crops.
● They are taking care of animals to help them in their daily
tasks of food production.
● Climate interpretation
● The concept of a month is composed of days.
Technology
● building houses
● irrigations
● the instrument for planting, hunting, cooking, and fishing
● weapons as a defense for war
● the use of soil for planting purpose
● medicinal uses of plants
● Waterways transportation
● Land transportation
Spanish Era
During the Spanish Era, Spanish colonizers pushed their culture and practices to the early
Filipino people. You can also notice some Filipino families, and even Filipino dishes have
Spanish sounding names. Can you name some of it?
Here is the list of developments of science and technology in the Philippines during the
Spanish era:
● It was during the Spanish era; it started the formal

learning in Science and Technology in the Philippines.
● There were schools for boys and girls created.
● The Spaniards introduced the idea of subjects.
● Most of the school then focuses on understanding
different concepts related to the: Human body, Plants,
Animals, and Heavenly bodies
● The Catholic Orders introduced formal colleges and
universities through Medicine and advanced science.
● Catholic Religion teachings.
● The trading system during the Spanish era has brought
additional technology and development in the
Philippines. Ideas, crops, tools, cultural practices, and
Technology.
● Some Filipino students who were able to study in

Europe lead to the advancement of Medicine,
Engineering, Arts, Music, and literature.
American Era
The Americans have more influence in the development of Science and Technology in
the Philippines compared to the Spaniards. Here are some of them:
The Americans pioneered the discovery of minerals in the

country.
Transportation and communication systems were

improved.
In this era, the teaching of basic and Science Education

is about nature studies and sanitation. These lead to the
introduction of the terminology "Science."
The Americans conducted researches about how to

control malaria, cholera, and tuberculosis, and other
tropical diseases.
After World War II
World War II, in spite of the physical destruction, it created an opportunity for progress in
the field of Science and Technology in the Philippines. The newly formed government
then focused limited resources for improving Science and Technology and used the fund
from the Overseas Development Allocations (ODA), an organization of different countries
vowed to the less developed countries for scientific productivity and technological
capability. Producing more professions in Engineering, Technology, Medicine, and others
is the main goal in terms of human resources at that time.
The Filipino Scientists
Fe Del Mundo, M.D., M.A. (1911-2011)
Since primary school days, we are taught about famous scientists like Marie Curie,
Thomas Edison, Albert Einstein, among others. And yet, Filipino scientists were not being
highlighted or discussed in most science subjects. Today we will learn who these Filipino
scientists are and learn about their contributions or inventions in the field of Science and
Technology.
Did you know that Dr. Jose
Rizal was a great scientist
himself? He was a lover of
nature, and Rizal discovered
these Animalia, including the
following: Draco rizali (the
flying lizard), Rachophorus
rizali (a toad), and Apogonia
rizali (a beetle with five
antennae) and built the
waterway system of the town
in Dapitan during his exile.
DISCUSSION
Below is a list of Filipino Scientist and their contributions.
Clare R. Balthazar
Clare R. Baltazar is known for her works on insects. She made an

impact on how to control insect pests. Some of Baltazar's scientific
contributions include eight species and one subgenus of the insect
Hymenoptera as well as new discoveries with Philippine parasitic
wasps that have 108 named as new species.
Filomena Campos
Born on March 30, 1930, Dr. Filomena Campos was well-known for her contribution to
the Philippine cotton research. Her research has led to the enhancement of a set of
proficiency in cotton fabrication. All of these she achieved in just three years. She is also
involved in the research on Sunflowers as a possible source of edible oil and livestock
feed.
Luz Oliveros-Belardo
Filipino chemist and researcher Luz Oliveros-Belardo

examined Philippine flora where essential oils can be
collected from. The uses such oils are for flavoring,
fragrance, medicine, and energy sources. She was able
to collect 33 new essences from Philippine essential oils,
including the study of its chemistry.
Eduardo A. Quisimbing
Eduardo A. Quisumbing specializes in plants and is

one of the first researchers to study Philippine
medicinal plants and orchids. He wrote the book
Medicinal Plants of the Philippines, which is
considered as one of the first books in this area of
specialty. He has also written 129 scientific articles
in this field. He studied the characteristics of grains
and proteins, and how these affect the quality of
rice. He showed that the amount of a substance
called amylose determines the quality of rice grains
in Asia. The less of this the substance that rice has,
the less sticky it will be.
Melecio S. Magno
As a physicist, Melecio S. Magno has conducted studies in the

Fluorescence Spectroscopy of rare-earth crystals, as well as
the effects of typhoons on the Earth’s atmospheric ozone and
Sky Luminosity.
Emil Q. Javier
Emil Q. Javier is known for his practical solutions to

agricultural problems because he knows that many farmers
have very limited resources.
Alfredo C. Santos
Alfredo C. Santos researched the chemical composition

of the medicinal properties of Philippine plants. His
vision for poor Filipinos who cannot afford expensive
drugs inspired him to conduct studies on local materials
for drug development.
Gregorio T. Velasquez
Gregorio T. Velasquez is a phycologist where he specializes

in algae. He devoted 30 years of his life studying algae called
Myxophyceae. Velasquez was able to produce 47 basic and
77 valuable scientific papers on the subject.
Gregorio Y. Zara
Noted for his contributions in engineering, Gregorio Y. Zara has invented the video phone,
the alcohol-fueled airplane, a solar energy absorber, an aircraft a propeller that is made
up entirely of wood, the wooden microscope, and a semi-automatic propeller-making
Machine.
Ramon Barba
Famous Genius Ramon Barba specializes in mango

propagation, where he developed a method that will allow
mangoes to produce harvests three times in a year. This has
greatly benefited the mango production industry of the
Philippines.
DOST: Balik Scientist Program
The DOST, thru the DOST-Councils (PCAARRD, PCHRD, and PCIEERD), continues to
encourage Filipino Scientists or Scientists of Filipino descent to go back to the country to
share their specialization to revive the scientific and technical resources of the field. As
of 30 June 2019, we already have 526 Balik Scientists in the country. These 526 Balik
Scientists were able to participate in 659 engagements servicing the requirements of the
academe, public/government agencies, and the industry. For the period 2007-2019, 238
Balik Scientists from 5 continents were convinced to return to the Philippines to deliver
352 engagements benefiting 115 Host Institutions nationwide.
SUMMARY
In this lesson, we talked about the various forms of science and technology during the
different eras in the Philippines, the Pre-Spanish, Spanish, and American Era, as well as
the contributions the Spanish and Americans had in the development of Science and
Technology in the Philippines.
We also tackled the discoveries and inventions that Filipino scientists have contributed to
the scientific community, as well as the initiative of the Department of Science and
Technology or DOST, the Balik Scientist Program, that encourages Filipino scientists
living abroad to come back home and share their studies with the home country.

Development of Science and Technology in The Philippines

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Development of Science and Technology in The Philippines

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Description:

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Development of Science and Technology in The Philippines

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Science and Technology and

After studying this module, you should be able to:

Development of Science and Technology in the Philippines

Science and Technology in the Pre-Spanish Era

● Scientific knowledge is practiced in the way they plant their

● It was during the Spanish era; it started the formal

● Some Filipino students who were able to study in

The Americans pioneered the discovery of minerals in the

Transportation and communication systems were

In this era, the teaching of basic and Science Education

The Americans conducted researches about how to

The Filipino Scientists

Fe Del Mundo, M.D., M.A. (1911-2011)

Below is a list of Filipino Scientist and their contributions.

Clare R. Baltazar is known for her works on insects. She made an

Filipino chemist and researcher Luz Oliveros-Belardo

Eduardo A. Quisumbing specializes in plants and is

As a physicist, Melecio S. Magno has conducted studies in the

Emil Q. Javier is known for his practical solutions to

Alfredo C. Santos researched the chemical composition

Gregorio T. Velasquez is a phycologist where he specializes

Famous Genius Ramon Barba specializes in mango

You might also like