President Rodrigo Duterte has signed a new law
creating a Philippine Space Agency (PhilSA).
The new law, known as the Philippine Space
Development Act or an Act Establishing the Philippine Space Development and
Utilization Policy and Creating the Philippine Space Agency, was signed last
Thursday, August 8, to strengthen the country’s space program.
Rep. Christopher de Venecia (4th District,
Pangasinan) , one of the prime movers of the original House measure and the
chairman of the Technical Working Group at the House of Representatives, said,
“The space development and utilization policy is vital to provide the country’s
strategic roadmap for space development and perhaps, pave the way for the
Philippines to become a space-faring nation, within the next ten years.” Space
program, not just for astronauts He said a national strategy for space
development is needed to keep abreast with trends in space science and
technology in key development areas such as agriculture, disaster risk
reduction, and telecommunications, among others.
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| PRIME MOVER - Pangasinan Fourth District Representative Christopher de Venecia was one of the prime movers when the space agency bill was still in the House of Representatives. |
Contrary
to popular notion that a space agency is only for space explorers, De Venecia
said that "A country prone to typhoons and other natural disasters like
the Philippines will greatly benefit in space programs because this also
involves improved disaster management; from gathering precise information that
gives early warnings and prediction of disasters, to reliable and speedy
communication during relief and recovery operations." De Venecia said that
PhilSA will work with the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) to ensure
that their programs are in sync in service to the Filipino people.
De
Venecia said that because of improved weather calculation due to space
technology, the space program will likewise enhance production and
profitability of agribusinesses, conserve and preserve the environment, and
improve urban planning, transportation and communication. This law will also
pave the way towards space research and development and ignite industry -
further creating jobs and plus leakages to the brain drain of the science and
technology sector. De Venecia has high hopes that with the Philippine Space
Agency (PhilSA) governing the Philippine development on space science and
technology, it is not far that the Philippines will be one step closer to being
not just space-capable, but space-faring.
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