An ambitious plan for a space agency

Believe it or not, there are many foreigners who still think Filipinos live on trees. They are probably illiterate, narrow-minded, promdis (from the province) or from the bundoks themselves. But one thing is clear they all have an impression that we still live in the primitive age.

If you look back at our past and fast forward to our present, indeed, you will understand why the West looks at us this way. From the most modern and most developed country in Asia with all the great minds and renowned artists, we have fallen backwards. All we have left is our physical beauty and charm.

So, do we really live on trees? Some Filipinos still live on treetops, some in mountains, some in bahay kubos (or bahay na bato), some in condominiums, others in mansions in posh subdivisions, some on the sidewalks, some in the empty jeepneys at night and others in temporarily set-up homes made from cardboard boxes (yes, the balikbayan boxes). It is unfortunate to note that many of us who try to live a civilized life still live in uncivilized conditions.

Our government is clearly at fault. Let’s start with the barangays, the municipios and government offices. Most of them work in uncivilized working environments, conditions using inundated systems. Yes, the truth hurts! So, start putting some order, beauty and professional service in your offices. Don’t make the people feel helpless and at your mercy. Open more counters instead of one and make sure you make everything clear.  Stop watching TV, listening to loud music, using cellphones or eating during office hours. Fix your schedule so that the offices are open even during lunchtime. Do not cook in your office nor in the courtroom. Give some dignity to yourselves and to the public you are serving.

It is clear in our everyday grind that both local and national government care less about our welfare. We have a very dirty country, the homeless are scattered all over the place, the streets have no sidewalks, the lamp posts don’t work, many old and dilapidated buses, trucks and cars are still on the roads, many airlines are abusive, the airports are not enough, etc. etc. – come to think of it, we live a very pathetic life.   

We have many national issues and concerns that Congress, Senate and government must prioritize. But most of the time, the officials are too ambitious. They have their own agendas.  They must zero in first into the basic needs of the citizens. The national budget should go to priority areas. For instance, our homeless citizens need halfway homes. How will they get out of poverty when government does not give them a fighting chance to do so?

Now, we face a mind boggling, brain twisting, chilling cliffhanger which both Houses and government seem to be unfazed of.  Last September and October 2016, House Bill 3637 and Senate Bill 1211, also known as the Philippine Space Act of 2016 were filed by lawmakers. Both bills aim to legislate a Philippine Space Development and Utilization Policy and create a Philippine Space Agency.

Last month, President Duterte approved a proposal for a 10-year Space Development Program (SDP) with a funding of P24 billion. Department of Science and Technology (DOST) Secretary Fortunato dela Peña has proposed the issuance and signing of an executive order creating a transitory space agency. The creation of the Philippine Space Agency will now depend on Congress.

The Philippine Space Agency will be established as the central government agency addressing issues on space science and technology applications. It will be the primary policy and administrative entity of the executive branch of the government in promoting the national space program. As such it will be an attached agency of the Office of the President and will be headed by a director general.

The question now is, do we really need a Space Agency to collect images of the Philippines for meteorological and land surface applications? The experts in the field say NO! Why? Simply because the technology for sending satellites into space to image the earth is already very well advanced in other countries and there is no need to develop and send a Philippine version of an earth imaging satellite. As a matter of fact, other countries have already given them to us for free. The spatial and temporal resolutions of the freely available images to monitor and investigate Philippine weather, land surface, geology, biology, fisheries and agriculture for climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction are very high and we can’t replicate that kind of technology in many, many years. It is clearly a waste of money.

What we need is a space program like that of Australia where they focus on supporting their ability to harness the freely available data through receiving stations and development of technical skills, expertise and infrastructure to process the millions of imagery that are made available to all nations for free because of the international commitment of developed countries to Open Data access. And this would cost the Philippine government only about P1-2 billion (compared to the enormous figure of a whooping P24B) to develop the infrastructure and training of Filipino remote sensing experts. This is 2/25 the cost of establishing a space agency that plans to send microsatellites into space with imaging capabilities. The intent of the Philippine Space Agency can be very well addressed already by the freely available data from the international community. All that we need to do is to further develop the remote sensing expertise to process imagery and infrastructure.

The government should know what to prioritize. Is it worth spending P24 billion in 10 years to send satellites into space now, when millions of Filipinos are hungry and without decent shelter? Shouldn’t the money first go to “on the ground programs” for housing and food security most urgent – to upgrade our military, armed forces and naval vessels?

Why are our lawmakers itching for a Space Agency at this time? Is it because it sounds good? Or is it because they are simply unaware of the remarkable alternatives: the millions of openly available data provided by the international community? These free datasets already address the concerns of the proposed Philippine Space Agency. Susmariosep!

Mr. President, think! You are clearly wasting money in this endeavor. Do you think our lives will change and become more civilized with a Space Agency? Is this a joke? Will we become a First/ Second world country with a Space Agency? Will foreigners stop thinking that Filipinos live on trees with this Space Agency?

I hope Congress can make some sense this time by making the right decision. Get top scientists from different fields (both industrial and the academe) and create an “ad hoc” committee. Let them give you a clear picture of this wasted endeavor. We haven’t resolved our problems on ground level – poor infrastructure, lack of more roads/ bridges, more satellites/ antennas, weak radio frequencies, poor telecommunication structures, unreliable internet systems, inefficient public transportation system, national railways, inter-island vessels, national security, destruction of our natural resources, corruption, etc. etc. and here we are trying to set our foot on another dimension.

Wow! How ambitious can we get! I hope that the Congressmen don’t space out when approving the P24 billion program.