A DRAMATIC reversal of the so-called “brain drain” that saw Filipino scientists and technologists leaving the country for better earning opportunities abroad, is expected to happen under the Balik Scientist Act the bicameral conference committee of Congress will ratify shortly for the President’s signature.
Albay Rep. Joey Sarte Salceda, principal author of the measure in the lower house, said the Balik Scientist Act will trigger the flow of modern technologies into the country that will help speed up development as Filipino scientists working broad, armed with the latest scientific know-how, flock back home to avail of the benefits and incentives the new law offers.
The Balik Scientist Act which aims to institutionalize the existing Balik Scientist Program, Salceda said, will “encourage Filipino scientists and technologists abroad to come home, share their expertise, and help speed up the country’s development in exchange for a package of benefits that is globally competitive.”
The measure, he added, will widen the Philippines’ chances to be at par with other countries in terms of science, technology, research and development. He noted that the country’s scientific environment had experienced a drought in the past due to the exodus of the best minds, encouraged by large pay and unlimited opportunities abroad.
Established under PD 819 in 1975 and extended until 1986, the BSP had somehow served as a wake-up call for Filipino researchers and technologists employed abroad, that they now stand to be compensated well at home where they can share their expertise with their compatriots, he added.
The BSP was strengthened anew through Executive Order No. 130 in 1993, due to “the remarkable outcome of the program and the presence of many highly trained overseas professionals who have the expertise in the priority priority areas of agriculture, energy and nutrition development.”
Despite the success of the BSP, however, Salceda noted that there were still many Filipino scientists, technology experts, and researchers outside the country who were not tapped due to circumstances that cannot be addressed by the existing program.
Now the Balik Scientific Act, he said, is set to “institutionalize the program, and strengthen the scientific and technological human resources of the academe, public institutions and domestic corporations to promote knowledge sharing and accelerate the flow of new technologies into the country.”
Salceda said the country needs to tap and utilize the expertise of expatriate Filipino scientists and technologists, which are vital components of the nation’s political, economic and social development efforts. “Toward this end, any foreign based scientist, professional, technician, or any person with special skills or expertise who is of Filipino descent shall be allowed to share his or her profession in the Philippines,” he added.
The Balik Scientist Act links up with another Salceda bill, the Science for Change Program or S4CP, which aims to accelerate investments in Science and Technology in the country and boost scientific innovations and inventions, research and development towards global competitiveness, and thus propel ‘genuine change, in these fields.
S4CP”•dubbed ‘Science for the People’”•was conceptualized in consultation with the Department of Science and Technology and the country’s science/technology”•research/development of the community. Such a law has long been overdue, Salceda said.
