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The Nation mourns the passing of a great Filipino. National Scientist Fe S. del Mundo, the first woman admitted at Harvard Medical School and founder of the first pediatric hospital in the Philippines, died 06 August 2011 at age 99.

Dr. del Mundo’s long and distinguished career was marked by her pioneering work in pediatrics, which won her not only local but global recognition for her research on diseases such as dengue, polio, and measles. She authored the first local textbook on pediatrics and developed an incubator made from bamboo that became a staple in rural health centers without electricity.

As a public health advocate, she was responsible for linking hospitals to communities especially in far-flung areas through the public immersion of physicians and other medical personnel. This innovative approach made possible the greater coordination among doctors and medical workers with the public for common health programs such as immunization and nutrition.

In 1966, Dr. del Mundo received the Elizabeth Blackwell Award for Outstanding Service to Mankind from Hobart and William Smith Colleges. In 1977, she was cited by the International Pediatric Association as Outstanding Pediatrician and Humanitarian. In 1980, she was named National Scientist of the Philippines, the first woman to be honored. And in 2010, Dr. del Mundo was conferred the Order of Lakandula with the rank of Bayani at Malacanang Palace.

Beyond these accolades, however, Dr. del Mundo shall forever be remembered for according due importance to the medical needs of children and indigents, and to the role of medical professionals in the greater community. She put a human face to the practice of medicine, and opened doors for generations of Filipino women in the medical fields.

Dr. Fe S. del Mundo—doctor, teacher, trailblazer.

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The National Research Council of the Philippines (NRCP) launched the 2011 NRCP for KIDS project with the theme “Teaching and Learning through Digital Media” on July 18, 2011 9:00AM at the NRCP Auditorium, DOST Compound, Bicutan, Taguig City. Pupils from the seven elementary schools nearby DOST will be the main benefactors of this project, namely Upper Bicutan, Daang Hari, Bagong Tanyag, R.P. Cruz,Sr., C.P. Sta. Teresa. C.P. Tinga, and Eusebio C. Santos elementary schools. The event will run from July 18 to July 25, 2011.
NRCP’s opening salvo will showcase various in-house exhibit of S&T Careers.

In attendance were DOST officials, AGHAM Partylist Representative Angelo B. Palmones, Taguig Mayor Laarni L. Cayetano, NRCP officials and Governing Board members, Philippine Science High School Diliman Campus representatives, and Department of Education (DepEd) representative, school teachers and principals from beneficiary schools.

This is the fifth year that NRCP focused its NSTW activities to children. Last year, it held the NRCP for KIDS Storytelling in which school kids learned the importance of caring for the environment to mitigate the worsening state of global warming and climate change.

“This year’s project will focus on ‘transferring’ the modern teaching technique of PSHS teachers to the students and teachers of the participating elementary schools,” said NRCP- Research and Information Dissemination Division Chief Alicia Mercado.

The modern teaching technique, which involves using digital media, will be shared by the volunteer teachers from the PSHS Diliman Campus to the participants composed of 40 elementary teachers and 540 students from all grade levels.

DOST Secretary Montejo is very enthusiastic about this project as it responds to President Aquino’s commitment towards poverty reduction and empowerment of the poor and vulnerable, which is spelled out in EO 43 or commonly known as ‘Key Result Areas of Social Contract.” (Jona M. Bernal, S&T Media Service)

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In a mutual accord sealed through a Memorandum of Agreement led by Department of Science and Technology Secretary Mario Montejo and University of the Philippines President Alfredo Pascual, the country’s lead science agency and premier university will build a mass railway transit that will run on a two-kilometer stretch across key spots in the sprawling 493-hectare campus.

Called the Automated Guideway Transit or AGT, the rail-based local mass transit is very similar to the MRT and LRT, except that it is fully automated, driverless, and runs on a single rail which acts as its sole support and guideway.

According to Sec. Montejo, the first AGT prototype tested on DOST grounds has earned the nod of President Benigno Aquino III. “We have redesigned this second prototype as an improvement of the first,” Sec. Montejo said.

Montejo also informed that the prototype, to initially run on a 500-meter track, will have 50-60 kph speed, but will later increase to 100-120 kph in the next phase.

UP Pres. Pascual revealed that the benefits of AGT has been proven across the world, such as in Japan, Canada, UK, and US. “According to DOST studies, local AGT costs just a fraction compared with the imported kind,” Pascual said.

“DOST believes that local S&T can work to respond to people’s need,” Pascual told, “and UP is open to be the ‘laboratory’ for such an idea.”

The DOST-UP railway transit project is a collaborative study to determine the feasibility of the AGT as a low-cost transportation. “DOST and UP aim that in the future, the AGT will be included not only in the people’s transportation choices but also in their lifestyle,” Pascual said.

The MOA signing was followed by a groundbreaking ceremony held at Jacinto cor. Lakandula Streets, UP Diliman campus. Montejo and Pascual were joined by DOST-Metals Industry Research and Development Center Director Arthur Lucas Cruz, UP Diliman Chancellor Caesar Saloma, DOST-Philippine Council for Industry, Energy, and Emerging Technology Research and Development Director Amelia Guevara, and UP Vice President for Development Elvira Zamora.

DOST Asec. Robert Dizon, project leader, said that President Aquino wants the AGT project to be tested thoroughly. "The President wants quality to be translated to commuter safety and transport reliability, " he said.

The AGT is one of DOST’s major projects that showcase Filipino ingenuity, creativity, and competitiveness.

“We save so much when we develop technologies locally,” emphasized Sec. Montejo. “These technologies highlight the fact that we Filipinos are very competitive.” (Framelia V. Anonas, S&T Media Service)

MOA signing og AGT

MOA signing (L-R) UP VP for Development Elvira Zamora, UP Diliman Chancellor Caesar Saloma, UP Pres. Alfredo Pascual, DOSt Sec. Mario Montejo,DOST-PCIEERD Executive Director Amelia Guevara, and DOST-MIRDC Arthur Lucas Cruz. (Photo by Gerry Palad) [More photos at STII (DOST) Facebook ]

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The Department of Science and Technology is ready to make ICT as enabling tool to help expand and sustain the burgeoning business process outsourcing industry.

“We believe DOST has the mandate and the knowledge resources to raise the number of BPO workforce in a significant way”, DOST Secretary Mario G. Montejo said.

Montejo dispelled fears that ICT will take a backseat in government development priorities following the transfer to DOST of the former Commission on Information and Communication Technology and renamed it as ICT office.

He assured leaders of the Business Processing Association Philippines in a meeting July 5 that EO 47 creating the Information and Communications Technology Office or ICTO, will result to “leaner, meaner planning and management” of government ICT resources to enhance e-governance and industry growth.

He cited the ongoing joint development program with the University of the Philippines on a software that can help aspiring BPO workers to polish up on their accents right in the comfort of their homes.
The $15-billion BPO industry directly employs about 600,000 Filipinos. It is still expanding. But lack of qualified people threatens its growth. Only 7 percent of applicants reportedly are accepted. One of the main reasons for the high attrition rate is flawed diction, an earlier DOST report said.

“The English Proficiency Training (EPT) Software can boost the still growing BPO industry with a large pool of aspiring BPO workers”, he added..

Experts in electronics and communications, and English teaching at the University of the Philippines in Diliman are working on the EPT software. It is being designed in such a way that a prospective BPO worker can go through self-training to correct diction or accent until he gets it right.

“We believe that technology intervention will play a big role in the overall strategy to develop globally competitive manpower and help increase the BPO acceptance rate from the current level”, DOST spokesperson Raymund E. Liboro added.

EO 47 essentially harmonizes government ICT policies, programs, and resources that tended to overlap and drag desired development momentum into higher value added services and products, he added.

“We assure the public especially the IT-BPO industry that the new ICTO provides us the path to a leaner and more efficient ICT regime that’s committed to transparent and reliable e-governance system and industry growth”, Liboro explained.


S&T Media Service