CHED: PCARI not anomalous, will drive science research

The Philippine-California Advanced Research Institutes (PCARI) Project has undergone proper procedure, said Commission on Higher Education (CHED) Executive Director V PCARI Dr. William G. Padolina in a press conference last week.

 

He said that the project will receive P1.763 billion per year over a five-year period, as provided for under the Special Provision No. 6 “Allocation for the Research and Scholarship Project” of the General Appropriations Act (GAA/RA 10352). 

 

PCARI-funded initiatives

PCARI will fund around 25 research projects concerning translational medicine and information infrastructure development out of hundreds that have sent research proposals for funding, he added.

 

Some of the approved research initiatives for new, faster tests for ailments common in the Philippines such as malaria, schistosomiasis, and dengue. He also said that the PCARI will help fund research into harnessing renewable energy through solar panels.

 

Both the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) and the Department of Health (DOH) are involved in the review of the projects.

 

PCARI also aims to send around 500 top tier Filipino scholars to the University of California San Francisco (UCSF) and the University of California Berkley (UCB) – two of the top publicly funded universities with world-recognized expertise in translational medicine and information infrastructure development, respectively.

 

These scholars will come from University of the Philippines (UP), Ateneo de Manila University (ADMU), De La Salle University (DLSU), Mapua Institute of Technology, and Mindanao State University.

 

Ideally, 80 percent of them should take up doctorate degrees, Padolina said.

 

After the first or second year, other Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) will be asked to joint the team.

 

However, PCARI will only be implemented after getting clearance from the Department of Justice (DOJ), which may or may not be given. CHED expects a decision within two weeks.

 

Answers to resignations due to ‘anomalous’ project

 

Three of CHED’s high-ranking officials—CHED commissioner Nona Ricafort, CHED Director Carmina Alonzo, and CHED Commissioner Nenalyn Defensor—reportedly resigned in protest to the alleged “anomalous” project that would benefit a US research institute.

 

However, CHED Secretary Dr. Patricia B. Licuanan said that Alonzo informed her that she “has not had any dealings with media that she is being misrepresented”.

 

Licuanan also said that Alonzo’s resignation was “not because of any anomaly” but because of what the latter thinks is conflict of interest.

 

As the head of the Administration and Finance, Alonzo was expected to make endorsements and recommendations to the Bids and Awards Committee – a position she found to somehow have a conflict of interest.

 

Licuanan also said that Defensor told her that she “had nothing to do with the steps that Commissioner Ricafort is taking at the moment”.

 

“Just to let you know, I have no communication with Nona since I left CHED, or with the press,” Defensor said in a text message to Licuanan.

 

Ricafort, on the other hand, did not resign but only finished her second term as commissioner.

 

“The law does not allow you more than two terms, so there (was) nothing to resign from,” Licuanan said. Both Ricafort and Defensor finished their terms as commissioners in July.

 

‘A little bit worried’

 

Ricafort and Defensor withdrew their signatures and support for the project because it didn’t go through public bidding.

 

“Essentially, they were concerned because this is a dangerous world and they have experienced cases filed against them for a particular project in the past,” Licuanan said.

 

“We understand that they were a little bit worried that something might happen here too. So they just wanted to be sure that everything was done properly.”

 

But they cannot withdraw their signatures.

 

“They signed it, they were part of it, and I think that is fair because there was nothing being kept from them,” Licuanan said.

 

In Philippines' favor?

 

Although unds for the projects will come from the Philippine government, the training, research expertise, and equipment will be provided by the California-based universities, according to Licuanan.

 

UCB and UCSF boast 10 Nobel Prize winners. Highly qualified individuals will train the Filipino scholars, Padolina said.

 

These scholars are then expected to come back to the Philippines to train the next generation of scientists.

 

“This unprecedented government initiative is a response to the disturbing reality that the Philippines is seriously lagging behind its neighbors in terms of having a sustainable university-based research infrastructure for technological innovation,” Licuanan said in a press statement.

 

The Philippines continues to trail behind other Southeast Asian countries like Vietnam and Malaysia who send scholars to the US by the thousands. 

 

It is also time, Padolina said, to invest in research and development initiatives that could open more jobs and economic growth in the future. — TJD, GMA News