ANGARA PROPOSES R&D COMMISSION
FOR GLOBAL COMPETITIVENESS

Congress has created a special commission to study in-depth the research and development work in the three fields of science, engineering and technology and craft an action plan to make R and D in the three areas globally competitive if not world-class , Senator Edgardo J. Angara today said.

Addressing the graduates of AMA Computer University , the biggest information and communication technology (ICT ) school in the country, Angara said that the Commission on Science, Engineering and Technology or (COMSET) is a bicameral, bipartisan body which shall undertake the in-depth review in the next Congress.

Angara was the main driving force behind the creation of the COMSET.

Angara said that R and D work in science, engineering and technology should be elevated to the level of globally competitive to boost technological innovations in the country and effectively produce a vast pool of young men and women skilled in hard-core skills for the cyber world , engineering and science.

Angara told the AMA graduating class that technological innovations have changed the world in a profound and irreversible way and the quest for innovative technologies will be the engine of growth and dynamism over the next several years.

It is in this context that the country should review the state of R and D in science, engineering and technology so strategies can be adopted to push the country into turning out globally competitive players in the three fields. And make the country a prodigious producer of technological innovations, said Angara .

This is the time, Angara said, to undertake a comprehensive reviews and assessment of the state of competitiveness of the state of R and D in science, engineering and technology to prevent the decline of our competencies in the three areas.

Angara said that Filipinos are creative and the proof of this has been the outstanding work of AMA graduates in the field of information and communication technology (ICT).

With 200,000 students spread in various campuses across the country, AMA has been turning out skilled workers for the ICT and BPO sectors.

Angara said that the country should invest and invest adequately in training the young for the science, engineering and technology sectors.

The inadequate investments in the said areas has led to slipping competitiveness and the general low-ranking of Filipino students in science and math competency tests.

Angara said that the Philippines has the lowest number of scientists and engineers engaged in world-class R and D work.

This should be reversed and the road to reform should start with the creation of the special congressional commission , he said.