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MAMBAJAO, Camiguin Island – There are more volcanoes than there are towns here.

More than 10 volcanoes, two of them active, share the 291-square-kilometer island province with the towns of Sagay, Catarman, Guinsiliban, Mahinog, and Mambajao, the capital.

It's the largest concentration of volcanoes per square kilometer in the country, and the number has since increased after volcanologists in the 1980s added three more to make it 10 – and counting. They believe there could be more.

The most violent and deadly in Camiguin is Hibok-Hibok on the northwest, with several vents in the crater and on the flanks. What sets it apart was the white-hot and poisonous sulphuric gases that accompanied its 1951 eruption – extremely fluid but dense enough to cascade rapidly down the slope and “mummify” people on its path.

That was what happened during its most recent outburst, in December that year, when glowing ash clouds – packing temperatures of 800 to 1,000 degrees Celcius seen 160 kilometers away – swiftly rolled down to Mambajao town and charred trees and burned houses along its path; 500 people were solidified and covered in white ash looking like mummies.

“Lava flood buries 15 barrios”, “Hunger, disease peril evacuees”, The Evening News bannered. “New blast blocks rescue effort”, it headlined.

The eruption “caught people unprepared for its fury and devastating impact,” volcanologists reported.

Except for its almost forgotten activity in 1902 when it emitted sulphurous odors, there were no signs of activity in the five decades before the series of sporadic eruptions that lasted from 1948 to 1953; the one in 1951 was most violent.

People were not forewarned because there was no government institution concerned with volcanoes then, although in 1948 a seismic monitoring station was already established in Mambajao.

Hibok-Hibok's eruption prompted the government to create in June 1952 the Commission on Volcanology (COMVOL), later the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) of the Department of Science and Technology.

The COMVOL's first order of business was to create five monitoring stations near the country's five most active volcanoes.

Twenty-two of the country's 37 volcanoes are considered active, including those near urban concentrations, such as Banahaw in Laguna and Quezon; Bulusan in Sorsogon; Hibok-hibok in Camiguin; Kanlaon in Negros Oriental; Mayon in Albay; Pinatubo on the boundaries of Pampanga, Tarlac and Zambales; and Taal in Batangas.

Today, Phivolcs is not taking any chances, here and elsewhere. In Camiguin, digital seismic sensors run 24/7 in Mainit, Catarman; at the peak of Mt. Vulcan 571 meters above sea level; and on the upper slope of Hibok-Hibok in Tagdo, Mambajao.

They pick up volcanic quakes all over the island and transmit the data direct to computers at the Phivolcs Observatory in Sitio Quiboro, 4.7 kilometers from the crater.

Phivolcs-DOST's Hibok-hibok Volcano Observatory

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To streamline all research and development (R&D) efforts in the country, the Office of the President, through the Department of Science and Technology (DOST), convened more than 200 R&D experts from private sectors, science and engineering organizations, and various government departments and agencies in an experts opinion forum held October 5, 2010 at the Philippine International Convention Center, Pasay City.

 

Dubbed the “National R&D Priorities Delphi Assembly,” the forum was participated in by experts from the Departments of Science and Technology; Agriculture; Energy, Environment and Natural Resources; Health; National Defense; Education; Trade and Industry; and Foreign Affairs, all members of the Presidential Coordinating Council for Research and Development (PCCRD).

During the assembly, Department of Science and Technology Secretary Mario G. Montejo explained that the main aim of the forum is to “harmonize all R&D efforts of various government and agencies and come up with a guide for the proper use of R&D funds.”

R&D priorities
Unofficial tally of experts’ responses showed that the government R&D activities, from 2010 to 2016, focused and concentrated on the following areas: agriculture and food (development of food and non-food crop varieties for high yield, quality, nutritional value, and adaptability to unfavorable environments and resistance to pests); environment and natural resources (forest production, utilization and protection); disaster mitigation and management (disaster-resilient system and infrastructures);

Energy (renewable energy technologies; and energy efficiency, conservation, and management); Health (confirmatory diagnostic tests for infectious/tropical diseases (dengue, influenza, MDR-TB) and lifestyle related diseases [cancer]; and point of care technologies for infectious/ tropical diseases [dengue, malaria, tuberculosis and influenza] and lifestyle related diseases [cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, cancer];

Manufacturing and production (new materials production using indigenous and other local materials); enabling technologies (ubiquitous/pervasive computing [hardware, network]; and ICT for development [ICT applications for different sectors] and citizen participation decision making);

Biotechnology (conventional biotechnology involving tissue culture, fermentation technology and enzyme technology; recombinant DNA on technology/proteomics including mutation breeding and marker-assisted breeding, waste management, drugs, vaccines, and diagnostic kits); nanotechnology (nanosensors and actuators; nanomaterials and nanocomposites; nanoporous filters); and electronics (semiconductors and components).

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Cagayan de Oro City—The regional office of the Department of Science and Technology here is working closely with other government agencies in Region 10 to produce optimum assistance benefits especially among the micro, small and medium enterprises.

"We have no problem when it comes to project duplications by some government agencies,” DOST Region 10 Director Alfonso Alamban said during the opening ceremonies of the 2010 Mindanao Cluster Science and Technology Fair in Limketkai Center.

Government agencies such as the Deparment of Trade and Industry and Department of Agriculture, among others, provide technical and other forms of business enhancing assistance to MSMEs in the country as part of the government’s economic development and job generation programs.

Alamban explained that in Region 10, government agencies work together and “in fact, we conducted a workshop on business proposal writing. DTI gave important inputs on the management side of the business while DOST provided the technical assistance.”

Meanwhile, Alamban proposed that MSMEs should indicate “recognized by” instead of “assisted by” in their products’ packaging to enhance their market competitiveness.

The Mindanao Cluster S&T Fair will run until October 10. It is the last leg of the Regional S&T fairs for this year.

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Cagayan De Oro City, Misamis Oriental - The Department of Science and Technology (DOST) folded its carpet for this year’s Technology Exposition and Fairs Program or Technology Fair on its final leg in Mindanao. Held at Lim Ket Kai Mall in Cagayan de Oro City on 8-10 October, the event had the theme “Filipinnovation: The Way Forward,” which emphasized Filipino innovative products, services, and skills.

Showcased in the DOST tech fair are the country’s distinct brand of high value products and services that are competitive in the global scene. DOST tech fairs, usually held in regional clusters, serve as avenues to convey the current thrust of the DOST which is to create value that people can appreciate and the society can benefit from. This thrust is reflected in the market-driven approach projects pursued by DOST Secretary Mario G. Montejo, himself a successful technopreneur.

After the National Science and Technology Week in July and four regional cluster fairs, the technology fair has successfully sent its message across: local technology works.

To local leaders, DOST appears to have effectively put its message across. Misamis Oriental Governor Oscar S. Moreno reaffirmed hope for Mindanao because of the DOST’s continuing initiatives not only for Misamis Oriental but for the whole of Mindanao. “We can surpass difficulties with the help of science and technology,” Gov. Moreno underscored, citing science as a critical component for development as he expressed the "need to push science and technology.” Meanwhile, Engr. Edgar Garcia, TAPI-DOST Director, said, “The regional technology fairs serve as an excellent ground for exchanging S&T ideas and facilitating technology commercialization and adoption.”

The regional cluster fair, the latest of which was hosted by Region 10 for the Mindanao cluster comprising Regions 9, 10, 11, 12, and Caraga, with the participation of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, underscored the fundamental importance of harnessing local capability. Highlighted in the tech fair were locally developed technologies, as well as programs, projects, and services of the DOST and its attached agencies. DOST-assisted products from micro, small, medium enterprises (MSMEs) got their fair share of exposure as they took the center stage during the exhibition. Assistance to the MSMEs comes from the DOST’s Small Enterprise Technology Upgrading Program or SETUP.

Other tech fairs held this year were the Northern Luzon Cluster Fair in Santiago City, Isabela on 26-30 August; Southern Luzon Cluster in Puerto Princesa City, Palawan, 14-18 September; and Visayas Cluster in Dumaguete City, Negros Oriental on 28-30 September. The Mindanao Cluster tech fair was the final stop this year for the regional fairs.

The Technology Fair showcases not only DOST- generated technologies and services but also the latest advances in S&T in the country. It is viewed as an effective marketing tool for the entire DOST system's products and services. The event was held at Lim Ket Kai Mall and cosponsored by Food Processors Association of Northern Mindanao. The annual event is spearheaded by the DOST's Technology Application and Promotion Institute. (Aristotle P. Carandang, S&T Media Service)

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Faster and reliable real-time weather forecasts and flood warnings are expected to help people to prepare against typhoon-whipped disasters, the Department of Science and Technology said following an agreement with wireless communications giant Smart on co-location of telemetric rain gauges at the latter’s cell sites.

DOST through its weather forecasting agency, the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical Astronomical Services Administration signed an agreement October 5 with Smart Communications initially covering the latter’s 63 cell sites nationwide.

“The co-location of our telemetric gauges in Smart cell sites will complement our on-going program to strengthen the capacity of PAGASA in issuing weather forecasts and flood warnings to the public,” DOST Secretary Mario G. Montejo said.

Each telemetric rain gauge automatically sends rainfall data to PAGASA’s 44 Automatic Weather Stations in the form of short messaging system or SMS. The data are then posted real-time in PAGASA’s website [www.pagasa.dost.gov.ph].



  1. Delphi Assembly for R&D Prioritization Rescheduled on October 5, 2010
  2. DOST brings anti-dengue fight right where it starts
  3. Notice of Postponement of the Delphi Assembly on the National R&D Priorities Plan
  4. DOST to deploy flood forecast system in RP’s major rivers