Space oddity?
We Filipinos are very good at celebrating success once somebody has already succeeded. Perhaps we should also learn to encourage people while they are still trying.
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We Filipinos are very good at celebrating success once somebody has already succeeded. Perhaps we should also learn to encourage people while they are still trying.
I hope the DAILY TRIBUNE, in the same spirit of fairness that allows criticism of government initiatives, will also allow this response to the column “Up, up and under” published on 29 July.
I thought the column was cleverly written. It was witty and certainly made its point. But sometimes a good turn of phrase can also make something sound simpler, or perhaps more ridiculous, than it actually is. So, allow me to answer some of the points raised, not because I believe government projects should be beyond criticism. Quite the contrary. They should be questioned. But they should also be judged according to what they actually intended to do.
First, why only five kilometers when space is much farther away? The simple answer is because this is a test. It was never presented as an orbital launch. A five-kilometer test is meant to allow the engineers and scientists involved to gather data, test the systems, observe the behavior of the vehicle, check telemetry and communications, validate safety procedures and, most importantly, find out what works and what does not. Surely, we cannot expect our scientists to begin at the finish line.
Every serious scientific undertaking has to start somewhere. You test, you learn, you correct your mistakes and then you try again. Sometimes you succeed. Sometimes you fail. That is the nature of research and development. We seem to have developed this habit in our country of laughing at something because it begins small. But how exactly are we supposed to build anything if we ridicule the first attempt simply because it is not yet the final one?
Second, the column correctly points out that Filipinos have already reached space through projects such as Diwata. And we should be very proud of that. But there is a difference between developing a satellite that is launched aboard a foreign rocket from foreign soil and developing the capability to test and eventually launch vehicles from our own country. One achievement does not cancel out the other. In fact, I would argue that one should lead naturally to the next.
If Filipino scientists have already demonstrated that they can participate meaningfully in space technology, why should we not also begin learning how to develop the other capabilities that go with it? That means launch operations, ground systems, telemetry, safety protocols, engineering, logistics, manufacturing and, eventually, hopefully, an entire ecosystem of businesses and highly skilled Filipino jobs around this industry. When we say, “We have to start somewhere,” it is not an excuse. It is simply the truth. No country wakes up one morning with a mature aerospace industry. Somebody has to take the first step.
Third, the comparison with flood control. Here, I think we have to be careful. The problems surrounding flood control are serious. If hundreds of billions of pesos of taxpayers’ money are being spent, then the Filipino people have every right to ask where that money went, whether the projects work and who should be held accountable if they do not. I have absolutely no quarrel with that.
But I do not see why investing in science and technology must be placed in opposition to fixing our basic infrastructure. Why must it always be one or the other? We are a developing country. Precisely because we are a developing country, we must address the problems confronting us today while also preparing for the industries and technologies of tomorrow. If we say that the Philippines cannot invest in advanced technology until every pothole is repaired, every flood is prevented and every other social problem is solved, then I am afraid we will be waiting forever. And while we wait, the rest of the world will not.
The real issue should be whether public resources are being used properly, transparently and for legitimate national purposes. That standard should apply to flood control, roads, agriculture, education, health, defense, science and, yes, aerospace development.
Fourth, why mention the President when the question is supposedly about the rocket? Because scientists and engineers do not operate in a vacuum. No one is suggesting that the President designed the rocket or calculated its trajectory. That is the work of the scientists and engineers. But leadership matters.
Government decides whether an idea is encouraged or buried under bureaucracy. Government brings institutions together. Government can open doors for international cooperation, investment, research and training. Government can also decide whether science and technology are national priorities or things we merely talk about whenever another country achieves something extraordinary. A President giving political and institutional support to Filipino scientists is not the same as taking credit for their work. I think we should be able to recognize the difference.
And finally, how should we judge whether this project succeeds or fails? Not by speeches. Not by publicity. And certainly not by how impressive five kilometers sounds. Judge it by what happens after the test.
Did we accomplish the technical objectives? Did we collect useful data? What went wrong? What went right? What did our Filipino scientists and engineers learn? Can the next test go farther or do more? Can we develop Filipino expertise from this? Can it eventually attract investment? Can it create jobs? Can it encourage manufacturing, research and other industries that do not presently exist here? Those are the questions I would like us to ask.
And if, after all the promises, nothing progresses, then by all means ask government and everyone involved to explain themselves. That is accountability. But declaring the effort ridiculous because the first test is only five kilometers is something else altogether.
I am not asking anyone to stop questioning government. Please continue. A free press should question us. The public should question us. I would worry more about a country where nobody does. All I ask is that we also give our scientists and engineers a little room to do what scientists and engineers everywhere must be allowed to do: To experiment, to test, to learn, to make mistakes, to correct them and then to try again.
We Filipinos are very good at celebrating success once somebody has already succeeded. Perhaps we should also learn to encourage people while they are still trying.
Five kilometers is not space. Nobody said it was. It is simply the first test. Let us see what we learn from it before deciding how far the Philippines is capable of going.
Katrina Ponce Enrile
Administrator and CEO
Cagayan Economic Zone Authority
