NIBRA seen to keep RP with world-class, practical R&Ds

MANILA, Dec. 9 (PNA) -- World-class research and technologies Filipinos can actually use, these are the goals of the National Integrated Basic Research Agenda (NIBRA) launched by the Department of Science and Technology geared towards improving Filipino's way of life.

"We want to focus our limited resources on areas that we think will have an impact on the country’s situation now," Jaime Montoya, President of the National Research Council of the Philippines (DOST-NRCP) said during the launch of NIBRA at the Manila Hotel on Monday.

No less than stakeholders and scientists identified the key areas namely pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, environment, information and communications technology (ICT) as R&D priorities.

Coincidentally, the industries are included in the National Science and Technology Plan (NSTP) priority areas set by the DOST as engines for the country's progress.

He said the NIBRA is aimed at producing technologies that would impact the country on an economic, social, political and scientific level, at the same time help launch the country's sustainable development.

Montoya admitted that research sector is given very little budget of 9 million but expressed that with the arrival of the NIBRA, the framework will allow big research projects gain access from the DOST budget, which amounts to more than a billion.

The NIBRA will steer us where we want to go, rather than becoming passive recipient of application and protocol and research proposals and then having to approve them but basically they don’t really maximally impact the country, he said.

Ongoing researches include a study on the marine aquatic environment on the marine solar oil spill area in Giumaras, weather prediction model in Visayas, biosensors using plants as indicators of pollution, Montoya said.

"We have other big and important projects underway for next year," he said.

He said the NRCP has partnered with various academic institutions nationwide and is even linked with international research bodies.