SECTION G FEBRUARY 29, 2016
TECHNOLOGY: STILL DRIVING THE GROWTH
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OR the last few years, we have seen how can help a developing nation such as the Philippines economically, With the benefit of globalization, technology-driven improvements in communication and accessibility to information, even infrastructure, we are able to adopt innovations from developed markets, and build on them to address problems in various sectors such as unemployment and income inequality, agriculture, health, security while leveling the playing field for small–even micro–businesses.
Through technology, we are able to raise education levels and accelerate growth. This can be seen in the consistent inclusion of the Philippines in lists of emerging and growth markets. The rapid development of digital technology and resultant low cost offers the opportunity to level the playing field–jumping over the hindrance of resource constraints such as the high cost of physical infrastructure. With the advent of smartphones and mobile devices, online shopping, mobile banking and e-
learning, the need to put up oftentimes unprofitable retail outlets and brick -and-mortar branches in lowtraffic areas are reduced. E-learning programs and facilities also improve the reach and accessibility of the training and education needed. By improving education, encouraging business and providing basic infrastructure for the new technologies, we can make the most of the opportunities offered by technology. And perhaps, catch up with the rest of the world.
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INFUSING AGRICULTURE WITH YOUNGER BLOOD
THE Philippines is an agricultural country, with many Filipinos in rural communities engaged in agriculture-related work or businesses. About 30 per cent of the total land area of the country is cultivated by almost 5 million farmers. The biggest problem threatening the sector, and as a result, our food supply is the rapid decline in the number of our farmers and fishermen. The population is rapidly ageing and what few there are, are poorly educated. According to a a country paper for the FFTC-MARDI International Seminar on Cultivating the Young Generation of Farmers with Farmland Policy Implications, May 25-29, MARDI, Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia by Dr. Marilyn M. Elauria, the average age of farmers is 57 years and average level of education is primary. In the same article, it states that “farming as a profession has become less attractive to the young and educated people. Most Filipinos do not like to go into agriculture because of the level of difficulty and the supposedly low income being associated with it. Knowledge in agriculture through education can make farming appealing and encourage the young generation to go into farming.” In fact, according to the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), there is a steady decline in the enrolment in agriculture, forestry, and fisheries courses in colleges and universities in the country for the past 10 years.
From 94,900 enrollees in 2001, it is now down to 49,823 in 2011 or an almost 50% decrease. In general, the solution to this problem seems fairly simple. Knowledge in agriculture through education can make farming appealing and encourage the young generation to go into farming. Higher farm productivity, hence, better income will stop people from associating farm-life with poverty. The Philippine government has long been using technology to battle resource constraints in the area of education and training.
E-LEARNING AND AGRICULTURE The e-Learning for Agriculture and Fisheries is a major component of the Philippine’s Department of Agriculture’s e-Extension Program, with the Agricultural Training Institute as the lead implementing agency, in collaboration with other government agencies, state universities and colleges and nongovernment organization. What it does is provide training and education to farmers in the country. Right now, the easiest way to reach the many farmers and fishermen scattered all over the country is through the use of simple technology that even the low-income sectors have: the mobile phone.
USING MOBILE’S REACH As early as 2007, mobile phones have provided government a more efficient alternative to a traditional extension system for agriculture, fisheries and natural resources sector, making the electronic delivery of services and materials easier. By maximizing the use of information andcommunication technology through a readily available device, the requirements of modernizing agriculture and the fisheries sector can be more easily provided. It is not only one way: it creates a central bridge where farmers, fishers and other stakeholders meet and transact to enhance productivity, profitability and global competitiveness. Using the principles of distance learning, the e-learning system distributes various courses developed and specifically designed by developers from partner agencies such as the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Science and Technology for agricultural extension workers, farmers and fishermen. Digital resources are also made available for supplemental learning, including web-based courses, and video tutorials in YouTube. Among the many courses available are modules on the latest TURN TO G4
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ICT AND HEALTHCARE: CONTINUING INNOVATION
INFORMATION and communications technology is definitely a driver in revolutionizing healthcare in many developing countries. In the Philippines, a country with one of the highest mobile phone usage rates in the world, mobile use has significantly increased in rural areas. Information and communications technology in general has already made dissemination of information and advisories to the public and facilitated consultation on health issues even in an archipelago made up of thousands of islands. Recent developments in mobile communications now allow patients to avoid long and expensive journeys to seek help by receiving remote consultation, diagnosis, and treatment from specialists in far off hospitals. On the developmental front, it also facilitates better collaboration and sharing of learning and training among health workers. Even more important, it has had a hand in ensuring that public health threats, such as dengue recently, are kept in control through monitoring and collaboration between the local government units, the private and public health sectors as well as the public. In 2013, the Department of Helath drew up the Philippines eHealth Strategic Framework and Plan, with the objective of enabling widespread access to health care services, health information, and securely share and exchange patients’ information in support to a safer, quality health care, more equitable and responsive health system for all the Filipino people by transforming the way information is used to plan, manage, deliver and monitor health services by the year 2020.
2015-2016: TRANSFORMATION According to plan, foundations should already have been put in place, and basic connections for the sharing of information already working by this time. In this phase the target is to continue the innovations to develop and implement defined national eHealth solutions. In 2015, the Department of Health established the national eHealth Data Information System,
allowing data aggregation from various data sources or different health facilities’ information system. It also deployed an innovation known as the RxBox, a device with built-in medical sensors capable of storing data in an electronic medical record, transmitting health information via the Internet upon the consent of the patient, and facilitating tele-consultations.
COLLABORATION AND INNOVATION The deployment of the devices aims to help promote inclusive health or equitable access to quality healthcare by all Filipinos regardless of socio-economic status and improve access to healthcare services and real-time health information for better decision-making. As of last year, there were 115 RxBox devices are deployed in health centers all over the country. By the end of 2016, the Department of Science and Technology (DOST), through its Philippine Council for Health Research and Development (PCHRD) in partnership with DOH and other institutions, hopes to deploy at least 100 more RxBox devices. Another innovation expected to be fully implemented by the end of the 2016 is the Philippine Health Information Exchange or PHIE. Through the PHIE, data records from hospitals are harmonized in order to ensure the availability of accurate and timely health information to both health practitioners at point of service and decision makers for more effective and efficient provision of health services. This helps make consultation and treatment more efficient and less costly for patients by helping them avoid duplication of treatments and avoid redundant and unnecessary tests when being treated by different hospitals. At least 85 hospitals are already putting data into the PHIE registries.
The PCHRD and Ateneo de Manila University have also started rolling out eHATID LGUs or eHealth Tablet for Informed Decision Making of Local Government Units. These involve the distribution of tablets containing an android application that offers real-time access to health information among LGUs and medical doctors for better decision-making. The application’s main feature is an Electronic Medical Record (EMR) system where patients of Rural Health Units
(RHU) record will be installed. It will also feature communication and graphs and reports, which can be filtered by date or disease. Data from the e-Hatid device are synced to a central database via the government cloud facilities of the Advanced Science and Technology Institute (ASTI) of the DOST. For health workers deployed in remote and rural areas, the eHatid has a feature that allows them to input patient records offline, and then later sync the
encoded information to a government cloud facility in case internet service is unavailable. The way information is collected, processed, and accessed dictates how well health providers and workers can plan, manage, deliver and monitor health services more efficiently. As long as science, technology and the health sectors work together to bring these innovations, we can expect continued improvements in the provision of health services to all, especially the underserved sectors of society.
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INFUSING...
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technologies and information on various crops, livestock and poultry, fisheries, sustainable agriculture, social technology including trade and management and more.
MOBILE IS TWO-WAY The Farmer’s Contact Center is another service created as a support center for the clients of the Department of Agriculture. Its task is to deliver farm and business advisory services through the use of ICT, using voice (call) and short messaging system (text) modes thru a pre-defined toll-free number specified across the country, as well as online communication like chat, online fora and email. Social networking sites such as FB, Twitter and YouTube have also made two-way communication between the Department of Agriculture’s various services and the people they service. Digital, video, social and mobile are the youthful tools for a connected generation. Can they truly be used in order to give agriculture the much-needed transfusion of young blood? We’re not sure yet, but we shall see.
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CLIMATE CHANGE(D) By Yna Pe-Apeño
SOME time between the start of the climate change debate in the late 19th century (yes, that long ago) to the time tree-hugging hippies began talking about peace, love, rock and roll, and global warming in the 1960s and 70s up until the present day, it happened. The world’s climate changed. Skeptics may hoot and holler till the methane-producing cows come home, but there is no denying that climate change is now very much a part of everyday reality. What was once referred to as a looming disaster is right here, right now, and the extreme weather events that come along with it—which now occur with greater frequency in the Philippines and around the world—are a testament to this fact. The Philippines is a climate hotspot, prompting the United Nations to declare us a “nation at risk” and ranking us the third most vulnerable country in the world. Our weather patterns have been altered drastically by climate change, so much so that even areas in our tropical archipelago that do not normally experience extreme weather conditions are now seemingly at the mercy of the elements. Strong typhoons and heavy precipitation have not only increased in frequency but also in severity. To this very day, communities are still reeling from the devastation wrought by past typhoons that have gone on to become household names.
For indeed, the likes of Ondoy, Pepeng, Sendong, Pablo, Lando, and of course Yolanda have as much name recall as Aldub or Kathniel. However, while devastating floods and storms have been known to dominate the headlines, climate change is more than just about the over-abundance of water. Water scarcity in the form of prolonged and frequent droughts, while less noticeable and newsworthy, are no less destructive to life, livelihoods, and even our food supply. This kind of climate change, compounded by this year’s El Niño, is exactly the situation we are facing today and in the months ahead.
CLIMATE CRISIS Climate change is a worldwide crisis that brings with it a host of complications that endanger our planet’s fragile ecosystems, from our oceans to our forests to our deserts to the freezing tundras. According to WWF, “Sea levels are rising and oceans are becoming warmer. Longer, more intense droughts threaten crops, wildlife and freshwater supplies. From polar bears in the Arctic to marine turtles off the coast of
Africa, our planet’s diversity of life is at risk from the changing climate.” Yet beyond its impacts on the environment, climate change is also a humanitarian crisis. The toll exacted by increasingly frequent extreme weather events are often summed up in terms of human lives, property damage, and hard currency. The pitiful conditions they leave behind are the perfect breeding ground for displacement, lawlessness and human rights abuses. In his impassioned plea during the 2013 UN Climate Summit in Warsaw following the onslaught of Yolanda, Naderev “Yeb” Saño, former Climate Change Commissioner for the Philippines and now Executive Director for Greenpeace Southeast Asia said, “I speak for the countless people who will no longer be able to speak for themselves after perishing from the storm. I also speak for those who have been orphaned by this tragedy. I also speak for the people now racing against time to save survivors and alleviate the suffering of the people affected by the disaster…What my country is going through as a result of this extreme climate event is madness. The climate crisis is madness… We can stop this madness.”
STOPPING THE MADNESS Many environmentalists around the world agree that the key to stopping climate change from escalating is by embracing renewable sources of energy and reducing the world’s carbon emissions.
Easier said than done—especially considering that the major economies of the world are largely dominated by powerful, centuries-old oil and coal interests—but it makes perfect sense. As former Greenpeace International Executive Direc-
tor Kumi Naidoo once said, “For those who believe that God exists, (do you think God said), ‘Oh, these people are going to need energy, so let me take the coal, put it deep in the ground, take the oil, put it deep in the ocean, and so on, so people will
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kill themselves trying to get to it and destroy things that actually humanity needs for its existence?’…Folks, you all have been looking primarily in the wrong direction. Rather than looking down for oil, coal and gas, you should look up and see that God gave you wind and sun to actually meet your needs.” Fortunately, the Philippines is not just a climate hotspot, it is also a hotspot for harnessing renewable energy. As a tropical archipelago situated in the socalled Pacific Ring of Fire, the Philippines is blessed with plenty of sunshine, water, air, and
even heat from the very Earth to generate sustainable sources for solar, hydro, wind, and geothermal power.
DRIVING THE CHANGE In their report Green is Gold, Greenpeace Southeast Asia asserts that renewable energy has the technological potential to contribute more than 50% of the country’s energy by 2020 from Geothermal (28.90%), Hydro (22.97%), Wind and Solar (2.90%), and Biomass (.73%) Despite their modest uptake
in the model cited above, wind and solar power are two of the most well-received sources of renewable energy. Wind power is gaining more acceptance, especially with the completion of Southeast Asia’s largest individual wind project in 2014 and the second largest in the world. Meanwhile, with swift advancements in solar technology and the continuous drop in prices of panels and related implements, solar power is becoming more and more accessible to the average home owner. The Green is Gold report, subtitled How Renewable
Energy Can Save Us Money and Generate Jobs, also outlines how growing the renewable energy sector makes perfect business sense. The report states that “(investing) in renewable energy can 1) generate tens of thousands of jobs, 2) save the government money in terms of tax revenue and foreign exchange savings, 3) boost economic growth especially in vulnerable areas suffering from energy poverty, 4) lower the cost of renewable energy for the long run by impacting the spot market, and 5) save customers’ money. Sounds like a win-win,
G7 doesn’t it? Yet this solution is only possible if there is sufficient government support and political will to steer the country in the right direction and there is enough people power to drive the change. That climate change can be reversed is still up for debate. Yet experts agree that weaning the world from its dependence on fossil fuels can prevent it from worsening. This means that a future free from the destructive effects of further climate change is possible, but only if the dream of an energysecure planet is realized first.
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ALTERNATIVE AND RENEWABLE ENERGY RESOURCES IN THE PHILIPPINES AND WHERE THEY ARE
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ITH an abundance of alternative, renewable energy sources such as wind and the sun, there really is no reason that the Philippines cannot be at the forefront of a renewable energy movement. We have sufficient resources that can be harnessed to produce stable power needed to electrify homes and fuel businesses. While we still have a long way to go, we are encouraged by the fact that the renewable energy sector has seen tremendous growth in the last four years. The Burgos Wind Farm, for instance, a 150-megawatt new power plant that commenced operations in November 2014. Touted as one of the biggest wind farms in Southeast Asia, it is projected to not just provide 370 gigawatt-hours of electricity, which would power approximately two million households but could also displace an estimated 200,000 tons of carbon emissions annually. The San Carlos Energy Inc. (SaCaSol) successfully connected the first 22 MW of its solar plant in Negros in the southern Philippines in May last year and another 30 MW are under construction. According to the company, the SaCaSol plant is expected to provide approximately 31,610,473 kilowatt-hour (kWh) of electricity annually to the Visayas Grid, which is currently suffering from brownouts and low voltage problems. Then there are the solar panels being installed on the roof of the country’s biggest malls. The Philippines may have been slow in adopting renewable energy, but it has been catching up. In fact, there is a goal to make renewable energy account for 50% of the total energy mix by the year 2030, when demand for energy is forecast to exceed 30,000MW. The question is, is it catching up fast enough? With the Philippine Department of Energy approving a total of 616 renewable energy projects last year, we can look forward to a cleaner energy infrastructure. Whether these will be enough to fulfill the 50% by 2030 objective is not certain, but at the very least, we know that progress is being made.