Fil-Am technopreneur urges PHL govt to invest in SciTech

A Filipino-American technopreneur prodded the Philippine government to invest more in science and technology to improve the country's research and development capability.

 

Diosdado Banatao said such added investment is needed to further boost the Philippines' standing as Asia’s new tiger economy.

 

"We have to make science and technology attractive to the (next generation) of Filipinos by making the right investments. More students should get into the math and science courses," he said at his keynote speech at the second Philippine Investment Seminar in Boston last April 26, the Philippine Embassy in Washington said.

 

The embassy said the seminar was part of the investment roadshow it and the Philippine Consulate General in New York organized.

 

Banatao, a managing partner of Tallwood Venture Capital, said the Philippine government should particularly jump-start investments in science and technology to improve the country's competitiveness in fields like electronics and biotechnology.

 

"As an engineer, Banatao is credited with developing several key semiconductor technologies and is regarded as a Silicon Valley visionary. His Tallwood Venture Capital invests in unique and hard-to-do semiconductor technology solutions for computing, communication, and consumer platforms," the embassy said.

 

In his speech, Banatao cited figures that placed government spending on science and technology at only 0.09 percent of the Philippines' gross domestic product.

 

He thus sought a bigger budget for research and development, to enhance the country’s capacity for innovation.

 

Scholarships, private sector partnerships

 

Banatao also recommended that Philippine science high schools should be under the Department of Education and not the Department of Science and Technology to further strengthen science education programs.

 

He also stressed the need to encourage more Filipino students to take engineering, science and technology courses and to produce many doctorate degree holders in these fields.

 

“The Philippines is faring low compared with its neighbors in terms of the number of PhD graduates produced,” he said.

 

The embassy cited "industry experts and analysts" who pushed science and technology centers of excellence; and the implementation of more focused manpower and institutional development programs, such as the Engineering and Science Education Program.

 

Also, the embassy said these experts recommend regional centers of research and development to support specific industries and closely linked with the science and technology centers of excellence.

 

They likewise pushed the creation of business centers near the centers of excellence, which will assist, advise and incubate technopreneurship ventures.

 

Banatao is helping the Philippines achieve these via Phildev, a nonprofit organization he chairs.

 

Phildev's projects seek to improve the quality of education and the provision of Internet access to elementary and high school students. — TJD, GMA News