Despite a crowded landscape of national challenges, the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) assured Filipinos that concrete solutions are already being implemented — grounded in science, sustainability, and smart innovation. At the opening of the 2025 National Science, Technology, and Innovation Week in Laoag City, Ilocos Norte, DOST Secretary Renato U. Solidum Jr. emphasized that a better future is achievable if “every Filipino shares the same commitment” to science-driven development.

Solidum detailed DOST’s four strategic pillars that serve as the backbone of its programs nationwide: promoting human well-being, fostering wealth creation, reinforcing wealth protection, and institutionalizing sustainability.

Under human well-being, Solidum said DOST’s initiatives begin with improving everyday life — nutritious and affordable food, clean water systems, accessible healthcare technologies, safe environments, and science education and scholarships that build a future-ready science and technology workforce. He cited the establishment of iHubs, Metals and Engineering Centers, Additive Manufacturing Centers, Food Innovation Centers, and Textile Hubs as key support systems for industry growth.

On wealth creation, Solidum highlighted that DOST supports industries and communities by driving innovation-based businesses, value-added products, digital transformation, productivity enhancement, and entrepreneurial ecosystems. Programs such as SETUP, CEST, NICER, PROPEL, and PHI-TEST aim to generate high-value jobs, support local enterprises, and expand opportunities from manufacturing to maritime transport and creative industries.

Reinforcing wealth protection, he stressed, means protecting not only assets but lives, culture, and stability. DOST focuses on climate-smart technologies, disaster risk preparedness, environmental protection, risk mapping, and forecasting tools to safeguard vulnerable communities. “Every disaster prevented is a livelihood saved, and every risk mitigated is a future protected,” Solidum said.

Institutionalizing sustainability, DOST’s longest-term pillar, requires continuous collaboration with LGUs, academe, and industry; stronger R&D investments; knowledge mobility; and development planning that outlasts political cycles. According to Solidum, smart and sustainable communities should be rooted in data-driven decisions, clean mobility, agricultural innovation, resilience and disaster readiness, and thriving creative ecosystems.

Solidum concluded that the vision of a science-powered Philippines is within reach — a future where science is integrated into daily life, not distant from it. “This is the heart of DOST’s work, the spirit of NSTW,” he said. “This is the mission that DOST carries — ensuring science serves the Filipino.”