MANILA, Philippines - Science Secretary Fortunato dela Peña said he can only listen with awe and a tinge of envy at the hundreds of billions being allocated for infrastructure while S&T and research and development on agriculture and aquatic resources get only a fraction of the pie.
Dela Peña, as guest of honor at the Department of Science and Technology-Philippine Council for Agriculture and Aquatic Resources Research and Development (PCAARRD) celebration of its 6th anniversary in its head office in Los Baños, Laguna last week, stressed that while the DOST was getting a measly share of national government appropriations, the department’s R&D institutions and councils should pursue various initiatives to promote and develop a culture of innovation in the country to attain national productivity growth, global competitiveness and inclusive growth.
Dela Peña pointed out that even if the DOST was given a sudden increase in yearly appropriation, there are questions on its ability to spend the additional allocation.
“The question that arises is our absorptive capacity,” he said.
As a member of the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) board executive committee, Dela Peña said he was privy to the approval “in principle” the other day of Phase 2 of the Philippine National Railways (PNR) North Project, which refers to the Malolos – Clark line.
The project, costing P211.4 billion and funded by official aid from the Japan International Cooperation Agency, will span 68.7 kilometers over seven stations from Malolos to New Clark City. It will use the existing PNR alignment but will be elevated, electrified and mostly run on dual tracks.
Dela Peña said that being a civil servant that rose from the ranks at the DOST, which only gets several billions of pesos for its annual appropriation, he could not help but be awed by the hundreds of billions being discussed for allocation to big-ticket infrastructure projects of the national government.
?Dela Peña had retired in 2013 with the rank of DOST undersecretary. He was plucked out of retirement and appointed to the DOST top post last June by President Duterte.
As a consolation, Dela Peña told the PCAARRD that it would be one of the beneficiaries of the Department of Transportation (DOTr)’s infrastructure projects particularly in the PNR.
Dela Peña said that one of the projects of the DOTr was to rehabilitate the south line of the PNR, the first priority being the opening of the section up to Calamba.
“The plan is to make it Calamba to Malolos, before they proceed with the Malolos to Clark line,” Dela Peña said.