Science, Technology and Nation Building 3

Title of the Lesson: Philippines Great Inventions

2
Time Frame: 3 hours

INTRODUCTION
When were Science and Technology known in the Philippines? Did our ancestors
have their own technologies? When did the Filipinos start learning about science?
The science and technology history in the Philippines started way back before the
the country gained its independence from its colonizers. In history, these were the
three
eras of Science and Technology in the Philippines. The Pre Spanish, Spanish, and
American Era.

OBJECTIVES

After studying this module, you should be able to:

1. Identify the science and technology that the early inhabitants in the
Philippines has.
2. Identify the contributions in Science and Technology of the Spaniards in
the Philippines.
3. Discover the influence of Americans in Science and Technology in the
Philippines.
4. Analyze what happened in Science and Technology in the Philippines after
World War II.
DISCUSSION

Development of Science and Technology in the Philippines

The science and technology history in the Philippines started way back before the
country gained its independence from our colonizers. The early inhabitants had their
own culture, the practice of faith, and indigenous science and technology. Let me show
the list of science and technology that our ancestors had.

Science and Technology in the Pre-Spanish Era

● Scientific knowledge is practiced in the way they plant their crops.

● They are taking care of animals to help them in their daily tasks of food production.
● Climate interpretation
● The concept of a month is composed of days.

Technology

● building houses
● irrigations
● the instrument for planting, hunting, cooking, and fishing
● weapons as a defense for war
● the use of soil for planting purpose
● medicinal uses of plants
● Waterways transportation
● Land transportation

Spanish Era

During the Spanish Era, Spanish colonizers pushed their culture and practices to
the early Filipino people. You can also notice some Filipino families, and even
Filipino dishes have Spanish sounding names. Can you name some of it?
Here is the list of developments of science and technology in the Philippines during
the Spanish era:

● It was during the Spanish era; it started formal learning in Science and Technology
in the Philippines.
● There were schools for boys and girls created.
● The Spaniards introduced the idea of subjects.
● Most of the school then focuses on understanding different concepts related to the:
Human body, Plants, Animals, and Heavenly bodies
● The Catholic Orders introduced formal colleges and
universities through Medicine and advanced science.
● Catholic Religion teachings.
● The trading system during the Spanish era has
brought additional technology and development in the
Philippines. Ideas, crops, tools, cultural practices, and
Technology.
● Some Filipino students who were able to study in
Europe led to the advancement of Medicine,
Engineering, Arts, Music, and literature.

American Era

The Americans have more influence in the development of Science and Technology
in the Philippines compared to the Spaniards. Here are some of them:
The Americans pioneered the discovery of minerals in the
country. Transportation and communication systems were improved. In this era, the
teaching of basic and Science
Education is about nature studies and sanitation. These lead to the introduction of the
terminology. The Americans conducted research about how to control malaria,
cholera, and tuberculosis, and other tropical diseases.

After World War II

World War II, despite the physical destruction, it created an opportunity for progress
in the field of Science and Technology in the Philippines. The newly
formed government then focused limited resources for improving Science and
Technology and used the fund from the Overseas Development Allocations (ODA), an
organization of different countries vowed to the less developed countries for scientific
productivity and technological capability. Producing more professions in Engineering,
Technology, Medicine, and others is the main goal in terms of human resources at
that time.

PHILIPPINES GREATEST INVENTIONS

Our country is blessed with so many innovations and inventions that improve
the lives of humanity. Scientific breakthroughs made by the Filipino personalities in
science and technology share their creativity, passion, uniqueness, and great ideas.
Also, the indigenous products, practices, and technology had significantly changed the
world of science in a global setting and perspective.
 In this topic, we will familiarize with some world-renowned Filipino personalities
and their contributions to science and technology; and selected indigenous science
and technology.

Objectives/Competencies
Upon completion of this module, you will be able to:
1. Familiarize oneself with Filipino Personalities and their contributions to science
and technology.
2. Appraise the impact of these great inventions on the development of the Filipino
nation.
3. Acquaint with indigenous technology in the Philippines.

In the quest for improving the lives of people, many scientific breakthroughs
have been given distinctive recognitions. Thus, let this information acquaint you with
the most famous Philippine inventions and their corresponding brainchild.
PHILIPPINES’ WELL-KNOWN INVENTORS/INNOVATORS

1. Dr. Fe del Mundo. She pioneered the field of Pediatrics in the Philippines. In
1941, she designed the bamboo incubator. This makeshift device is
economical and easy to build, making it ideal for use for rural communities
without electricity. Also, she was the first woman to be recognized as a National
Scientist here in the Philippines.
2. Dr. Abelardo B. Aguilar. He contributed so much to the discovery of
erythromycin where he stumbled upon the bacteria 𝘚𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘵𝘰𝘮𝘺𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘢𝘦𝘶𝘴
(now 𝘚𝘢𝘤𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘰𝘭𝘺𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘢 𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘢𝘦𝘢 obtained from the soil samples in his
backyard. In 1949, he submitted his research work to his company Eli Lilly and
Company, branded the antibiotic into Ilosone (after Iloilo), but never gave him
the credit he was due.
3. Dr. Gregorio Zara. the inventor of the first videophone.
4. Dr. Angel C. Alcala. A national scientist best known for his research related
to the rehabilitation of coral reefs. He created the first artificial reef used for
fisheries in Southeast Asia.
5. Benjamin Almeda Sr. He is known as the “Father of Filipino inventors.” He
was recognized in the innovation industry for inventing various original food
processing machines like meat grinder, rice grinder and coconut grater.
6. Dr. Julian A. Banzon . He is a National Scientist and biochemist credited for
his research in alternative fuel.
7. Dr. Ramon C. Barba. A well-known Filipino scientist and horticulturist best
known for his contribution towards advancements in the mango industry. He
developed the flower induction of mango trees improving yields.
8. Anacleto S. Del Rosario. He invented the formula for producing a pure kind
of alcohol from tuba in a nipa palm and recognized as the "Father of Philippine
Science and Laboratory".
9. Roberto Del Rosario. He developed the Karaoke Sing Along System (SAS).
10. Dr. Pedro B. Escuro. A Filipino scientist known for his isolation of nine rice
varieties.
11. Dr. Carmen Ll. Intengan. A food and nutrition researcher who contributed to
the advancement of nutrition in the country.
12. Clara Y. Lim-Sylianco. A national scientist who worked on mutagen,
antimutagen and bio-organic mechanism.
13. Dr. Bienvenido O. Juliano. A national scientist known for his
outstanding contributions to the chemistry and technology rice grain quality.
 14. Felix Maramba. A scientist who built a coconut oil-fueled power generator and
a developer of biogas systems.
15. Maria Y. Orosa. A chemist and the pioneering food technologist on food
preservation. She invented the palayok oven, developed recipes for local
products, condiments like her famous banana ketchup, desiccated and
powdered form of a citrus fruit nips and other recipes.
16. Dr. William G. Padolina. He is recognized for his significant contribution on
the chemistry of the coconut, medicinal plants chemistry and biogas
production.
17. Francisco Quisumbing. a Filipino chemist who invented Quink ink.
18. Rudy Lantano Sr. He developed the Super Bunker Formula-L, a revolutionary
fuel half-composed of water.
19. Dr. Virgilio Malang. He is one of the renowned Filipino inventors that
developed the Feminine Hygiene or the External Vaginal Cleanser.
20. Diosdado Banatao. He developed the first single-chip graphical user interface
accelerator that made computers work a lot faster.

SUMMARY
In this lesson, we talked about the various forms of science and technology during the
different eras in the Philippines, the Pre-Spanish, Spanish, and American Era, as well
as the contributions the Spanish and Americans had in the development of Science
and Technology in the Philippines. We also tackled the discoveries and inventions that
Filipino scientists have contributed to the scientific community, as well as the initiative
of the Department of Science and Technology or DOST, the Balik Scientist Program,
that encourages Filipino scientists living abroad to come back home and share their
studies with the home country.

SUGGESTED READINGS AND WEBSITES

Government Documents: 1. NEDA. National Development Agenda; Regional

Agenda
Filipino Great Men and Women
Great Filipino Inventions
GLOSSARY

Fluorescence Spectroscopy a systematic method which is based on the

fluorescence properties of
the sample (e.g., rare earth crystals)

Hymenoptera these are an order of highly specialized

insects that undergo complete
metamorphosis; these include bees,
wasps, ants, ichneumon flies,
sawflies, gall wasps, and related forms.
Myxophyceae this is a class of algae now designated as
the cyanobacteria

Propagation a method usually used in agriculture to

increase the specimen (i.e., mangoes,
rice, cotton) in numbers.

REFERENCES
DOST Hybrid Trimaran - 1st IN THE WORLD. (2020, March 9). [Video]. YouTube. 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UhjIzDAHx6c 
 
Ramon Barba. (2018, March 4). Biography, Facts and Pictures. 
https://www.famousscientists.org/ramon-barba/ 
 
Serafica, Pawilen, Casilib, & Alata. (2018). Science, Technology, and Society.
Rex Book 
Store, Inc. 
 
TOP 10 PINOY INNOVATION FEATURED IN DOST NSTW 2019. (2019, July 22).
[Video]. 
YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ji52KmIcJPM