Sen. Francis "Kiko" Pangilinan also called out the Department of Budget and Management for slashing the already-measly budget of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) by over P70 million, which will affect some of its research projects.
In its two-year journey, the Diwata-2 microsatellite has captured 32,256 images, including a wide-field camera image of Typhoon Ambo on May 12, 2020, two days before it made landfall in the country when it was still a tropical storm.
The Department of Science and Technology (DOST) has called on government agencies to adopt available mass transportation technologies after Metro Manila ranked a dismal 49th out 50 Asia-Pacific cities in the Urban Mobility Readiness Index conducted by the Oliver Wyman Forum and University of California.
DOST secretary Fortunato T. de la Peña said they are working on a project called RuralSync, which allows the delivery of digital contents to remote communities using spectrum access or operating on unused licensed spectrum from various television networks but without affecting their broadcast.
Sen. Joel Villanueva underscored the importance of innovation at the time of the pandemic, as he credited the country's improved ranking in the Global Innovation Index where the Philippines ranked 50th out of 130 economies due to the increased investments of the government in research and development.
A new study said there is a need for both government and private sector to support the promotion of most S&T disciplines given that new jobs are emerging from new technologies and industries.
