The Philippines has a good news as President Rodrigo Duterte signed the legislation for the inception of its space agency. According to The Japan Times, the president signed it on August 8, 2019.
The discussion pertinent to the advancement of space technology in the Philippines is not novel. Accordingly, it already started years before as the country was putting lots of investment in the field.
As a result, the country currently has numerous experts and scientist on the relevant field. Thus, the government thinks that this is the right time for the Philippines to establish a space agency named Philippine Space Agency (PhilSA).
By doing this, the government believes that it will benefit the country in numerous sectors. In addition, current and yet-to-come generations would be able to experience the vast benefits.
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“We can monitor vessels out there in the sea. … This can also support our fisher folk, not just to monitor where they are but also where to efficiently fish. … We can also monitor our agricultural productivity. … real-time, with these capabilities in place, where deforestation and degradations are taking place. … situations in disaster-stricken areas,” said Enrico Paringit, one of the officials in the Philippine Council for Industry, Energy, and Emerging Technology Research and Development.
Public Responds
By making the legislation official, the public reacts differently. As usual, the reaction does not only come from the citizens, but it also comes from the government.
Many people opine that this is the right thing to do. Accordingly, this suits Philippine Development Plan 2017-2022 and National Security Policy.
Rogel Mari Sese, a Filipino astrophysicist who helped develop the legislation, stated, “Space is no longer a luxury when it comes to national development and security. It’s a necessity.” The statement indicates that developing such agency is a requirement for the country and any country.
However, Carlos Zarate of Bayan Muna (People First) argues that this is wrong prioritization of the government. The reason being is that other sectors such as agricultural and health sectors require the fund and the attention more.
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“There’s nothing wrong in being ambitious. … But that 10 billion pesos can go a long way if we improve our agriculture sector. We even have a problem in our health sector, which is also being deprived of funds. Our social services are facing big problems,” he said.
