'Diwata was a labor of love' -resigned engineer

The dream of Diwata is bigger than us all, says one of the engineers who helped the Philippines make its first tentative steps into space exploration.

Julian Oliveros, one of a team of engineers who worked on the Diwata 1 microsatellite under what he described as "back-breaking" conditions, on Friday called for national solidarity despite his misgivings on how the project was handled.

"We all know that there are still unresolved issues that need to be addressed. Those issues, the resolutions of which may have long-term effects on the state of (science and technology in the Philippines), should not however be cause (for) alarm that the project would fail," he said.

"Setbacks like these should never be reason to drop (our) vision... (They should be) seen as something positive, a learning experience driving us all towards what is better," he added.

Breaking barriers against the odds

"We have shown that we Filipinos can break barriers. For the first time, we have built something and sent it to space despite the odds and hardships. We can do more and so although we must speak up sometimes, we should never cease being positive in our outlook," he concluded.

Oliveros also shared a post from happier times in January, shortly after the team had completed the Diwata 1 in a feat that he felt was nothing short of "a miracle":

"Diwata 1 is not just a project for the Filipino people, it is (also) an accomplishment of the Filipino people. A testament to the strength of the Pinoy. We can and we will break boundaries. Proud to be Pinoy!"

Problems that need to be addressed

Oliveros and another colleague in the nine-member Diwata team, Paolo Espiritu, went on social media this past week to complain about alleged unfair treatment at the hands of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST).

In his now-viral Facebook post last April 1, Paolo Espiritu said that he and his teammates were sent on scholarship to Japan to study aerospace engineering and to build the Diwata 1 microsatellite under a "vague" contract that led to "outrageous treatment" and long work hours.

"We go the lab on Saturdays. We go to the lab on Sundays. We go to the lab on holidays. We go to the lab during Christmas. So no. We are not just students," Espiritu explained.

In a counterstatement, the DOST said that all the members of the Diwata team were receiving above-average compensation from the government. Academic observers were also quick to point out that long hours were "normal" for graduate students.

But less than a week later, Oliveros followed suit with his own complaint, in which he asserted that the satellite's construction had been railroaded at the cost of placing a heavy emotional and physical burden on the student engineers.

"We had to deliver it in just one year when ordinarily it should take three years to complete," he said.

Shortly before posting his missive on Facebook, Oliveros formally tendered his resignation from the Diwata team. — GMA News