House approves four bills to strengthen PH science research
FAUSTINO “Bojie” G. Dy III and other lawmakers push measures to modernize the National Research Council of the Philippines.
Photo courtesy of House of Representatives.
Four consolidated bills aimed at strengthening the National Research Council of the Philippines (NRCP) were approved by the House Committee on Science and Technology, chaired by Negros Occidental Rep. Julio Ledesma IV, to better promote research across scientific disciplines.
The bills for consolidation are House Bills (HBs) 3539, 7724, 7802, and 4689, authored respectively by Speaker Faustino “Bojie” Dy III, Aklan Rep. Jesus ‘Jess’ Marquez, Zamboanga del Sur Rep. Joseph Kim Yu, and Leyte Rep. Ferdinand Martin Romualdez.
Ledesma highlighted the need to bolster the NRCP’s capacity, noting that Republic Act 4120, which created the council, was passed on 08 December 1933.
“I had the opportunity to go over the 10 provisions of the law that enabled it. Of the 10, excluding Section 10, which is the closing argument, seven of the nine provisions are no longer operative. We were under the Commonwealth then. If you read the enabling law, it is no longer applicable; it is obsolete,” Ledesma said.
In the explanatory note of HB 3539, Speaker Dy said the NRCP “is mandated to promote and support fundamental or basic research for the continuing total improvement of the research capability of individual scientists or groups of scientists; provide advice on problems and issues of national interest; promote scientific and technological culture to all sectors of society; and foster linkages with local and international scientific organizations for enhanced cooperation in the development and sharing of information.”
Dy noted that as a collegial body of scientists, the NRCP “has provided legislative inputs on the creation of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology (PHIVOLCS) and the National Science Development Board, the predecessor of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST), among others.”
He added, “With the growing trend towards digitalization, this proposed measure seeks to strengthen the NRCP as a world-class institution. After more than eight decades, its charter must be revisited and the necessary innovations be introduced.”