Governor Imee R. Marcos has revealed willingness to invest in science and technology to push for “inclusive development” in Ilocos Norte during her remarks at the 33rdAnnual Philippine American Academy of Science and Engineering (PAASE) Meeting and Symposium (APAMS) held at Plaza del Norte, Laoag City last January 31.
Using her three “pillar policies”—INspire, INnovate and INvest, Gov. Marcos outlined a wide-ranging plan which utilizes science and technology as major tools to address the various conditions inherent to the province.
“We like to be inspired. Secondly, we like to innovate, come up with new things…Having determined to innovate and found solutions, we are determined to invest in human capital, actual resources and materials, and in time,” Gov. Marcos said before the officers and members of PAASE and delegates from 23 universities across the country.
Renewable energy, the province’s most recent science-related project, was also tackled by her, stating that investment on this such as inthe Bangui windmills, Agua Grande hydro-energy in Pagudpud, and the looming solar farm in Currimao can hopefully bring down the province’s percentage of dependency on “fossil fuels and none renewables”.
“It is my hope that with this distinguished group [PAASE], we can come up with more and even better solutions in growing areas of bio fuels and other garbage-generated energy sources,” Gov. Marcos told APAMS delegates.
Science-related programs have become one of the prioritiesof PGIN since the start of Gov. Marcos’ administration. Aside from her plans to generate “green jobs” as indicated during her State of the Province Address last July, Gov. Marcos now also expressed the province’s readiness to invest on “scalable and commercial research”.
“In fact, [science] truly belongs to the rice fields, in the mango orchard and outside in the sand dunes, windmills, and hydrothermal energy,” she added.
Mariano Marcos State University (MMSU), one of the powerhouses in research and league tables in science education of Ilocos Norte, was PAASE’s co-host for this year’s APAMS.
PAASE is a professional organization of scientists and engineers of Philippine descent who hold Ph.D. or M.D. degreesand are in the forefront of scientific research and technology development in the United States, the Philippines and other countries.
APAMS,which is held in the US or the Philippines in alternate years, usually features plenary and parallel sessions of scientific technical presentations, focus group discussions, academic innovation booths, and pitching competitions.—Grazielle Mae A. Sales, PGIN-CMO
