Incoming DOST head to focus on agriculture, health

The Department of Science and Technology (DOST) is set to focus primarily on agriculture, food, and health in the next administration.

In an interview on News To Go, incoming DOST secretary Fortunato Dela Peña disclosed that he already had talks with incoming Department of Agriculture Secretary Manny Piñol on possible project collaborations.

“[Piñol] approached me and said that we would have to collaborate closely because there are many things in our department that would be of good use to agriculture,” de la Peña said.

He paid particular attention to the DOST's geohazard mapping efforts, which he believes will be of great use to the agriculture sector.

“For example, irrigation systems will have to be designed based on the information given in this mapping,” Dela Peña said.

In the health sector, Dela Peña said he would primarily focus on key areas: drug-discovery, diagnostics and equipment.

“There are parallel approaches in drug-discovery area, one is the identification of new chemicals that can be developed into drugs and there are these herbal plants that can be used for medicinal purposes,” he said.

On the other hand, he stressed the need to develop diagnostic measures for some diseases to reduce mortality and morbidity.

“The other area, of course, is the equipment and gadgets used in medical purposes. There are also researches that will focus on certain diseases so that we will be able to predict and prepare for them,” he underscored.

Meanwhile, Dela Peña is firm to continue the current projects of the DOST in terms of disasters.

He acknowledged efforts by the DOST to facilitate coordination between agencies, including state weather bureau PAGASA and other private institutions in terms of disaster preparedness.

However, de la Peña stressed that there is still to address communication gaps between these agencies and its audience.

“I guess one of the more important thing that we have to address in weather forecasting is really the translation of announcements into a medium that will be easily understood by our citizens,” he said.

Just recently, PAGASA launched Patnubay sa Weder Forkasting, a book of weather-related terms translated to Filipino.

With all these proposals in mind, Dela Peña said one good thing about the science department is its continuity.

“Even if the administrations changed, the good projects continue and new things are introduced. Many of the projects that were introduced recently will probably have to be continued because they are very useful,” he said.

However, one major challenge he still sees is the threat of brain drain in the science and research sector.

To amend this, he plans to expand the career-incentive program for DOST scholars.

“So our graduate scholars will not complain anymore that they have no place to go. We will absorb them to our research institutes even on temporary basis until they find the right place to work,” the incoming secratary pronounced.

He also hopes to introduce nationalistic programs and incentives.

“We have to do something about having our scholars think along the way of being patriotic. It is very difficult to counteract this with monetary incentives and all these things. Maybe the best way is to give them the right atmosphere and environemtn to work. Hopefully we can inculcate with them certain values,” he said. — Kiersnerr Gerwin Tacadena/TJD, GMA News