DESPITE difficult encounters alongside the pursuit of research within the nation, the 2026 National Academy of Science and Technology Philippines (NAST PHL) awardees laid out how their experience and grit of their respective fields proceed to form national improvement throughout the #PilipiNAST Kapehan, Quezon City, on July 1, 2026.
FILIPINO SCIENTISTS 2026 National Academy of Science and Technology Philippines awardees await the query to be tackled on the question-and-answer portion of the #PilipiNAST Kapehan, on July 1, 2026. DOST PHOTOS
Thirteen Filipino scientists conferred with NAST PHL awards – together with this yr’s newly elected Academicians, Outstanding Young Scientists (OYS), and the winners of the NAST Talent Search for Young Scientists (NTSYS) – shared how their initiatives persist to assist handle points that the Philippines faces amid funding, bureaucratic, and useful resource constraints.
Dr. Edwino Fernando, one of many newly elected Academicians of NAST PHL, is understood for his species discoveries, notably on crops that develop in metal-rich soils (ultramafic flora), and in addition for his effort to leverage its properties.
Among his discoveries is Rinorea niccolifera from Zambales, a plant that absorbs nickel in its leaves and sap.
Nickel is greatest used on chrome steel, batteries, and cash, amongst others, in response to the International Nickel Study Group. Hence, Fernando calls to guard this species, typically known as “nickel-eating plant,” which is usually a potential useful resource for steel farming expertise within the nation.
RESEARCH CHALLENGES Newly elected Academician Edwino Fernando talks how he shared the identical challenges with the opposite 2026 NAST PHL awardees throughout the conduct of their research and initiatives of their respective experience.
“We need to secure these unique plants with certain properties so that they can help this country move forward, sustainably harvesting nickel rather than destroying our forests,” the academician mentioned.
However, he shared that acceptable funding for research stays to be a problem amongst immediately’s scientists, which incorporates testing, wage for venture workers, primary tools to hold out the examine, and its upkeep.
On the opposite hand, OYS awardee Dr. Wilfred John Santiañez pushes the conservation and improvement of tradition applied sciences for underdeveloped seaweed assets within the nation.
He mentioned that amongst 900 species of seaweeds throughout the Philippine’s biodiversity, many of those might be tapped for varied purposes, together with cattle fodder for minimized carbon footprints, medical and pharmaceutical purposes, in addition to meals for commerce.
However, transporting seaweed samples for research and conservation prices round a million per expedition, prompting researchers to maximise every discipline exercise.
“My real dream is to have an advanced mariculture facility, especially for developing seaweed resources. To progress, diversify the resource base, derivatives and products,” Santiañez added.
Dr. Mayzonee Ligaray, one of many OYS awardees, forefronts water useful resource administration by predictive modeling and simulation in weak communities that face water insecurity.
However, she revealed that the Philippines presently lacks monitoring stations that accumulate knowledge on climate and rivers, limiting scientists’ means to develop efficient water safety plans.
“Because [this] is not one solution fits all (on addressing water insecurity). It really depends on the type of watershed that you are dealing with,” Ligaray mentioned.
Fellow awardee Dr. Joseph Basconcillo is a meteorologist from the Department of Science and Technology-Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration (DOST-Pagasa), whose work on “Christmas typhoons” and monsoon makes an attempt to boost catastrophe danger discount and local weather change adaptation within the nation.
Similarly, Dr. Rafaela Jane Delfino research how human actions are altering the local weather, utilizing high-resolution pc fashions to foretell their results on the Philippines.
“We conduct this [to] improve our understanding of how these extreme events behave. And essentially, that would hopefully be able to inform ‘yung early warning systems natin,” she added.
Aside from a scarcity of sufficient entry to high-performance computing, which requires researchers to collaborate with different international locations, the awardee additionally mentioned her present discipline solely has roughly 500 meteorology and local weather scientists within the Philippines.
“The Philippines is a living laboratory of all the climate challenges, climate variability, and extreme weather. But we only have very few heads working on the problem trying to understand different climate challenges,” she added.
Dr. Karl Ezra Pilario, a fellow OYS awardee, focuses on empowering the nation by renewable power assets by huge systems-level modeling, monitoring, and optimization.
“We need to start a conversation with each other, with the academe, the government and our consumers, on how we can move forward from here so that we can check the scenario that will be good for all,” he mentioned relating to renewable power assets for the general public.
One of his main research areas focuses on local weather change mitigation, therefore his modeling of pollution by computational instruments.
However, like that of others, long-haul bureaucratic processes, together with units of permits, funding, patents, and different documentations, stall the conduct of the examine.
In sociology, OYS Dr. Joseph Velasco traced again the international insurance policies of the nation in relation to the disputed West Philippine Sea, starting from the previous administration of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to the current, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
“I do briefings with other agencies, such as the National Security Council and the Philippine Coast Guard and explain to them how China perceives the Philippines and how they imagine us in the broader aspect of geopolitics,” Velasco shared.
Coming from the attitude of a researcher and professor Velasco shared that the construction of academia – particularly with a excessive variety of educating masses and administrative roles within the college – hinders high quality and higher research outcomes for Filipino scientists.
“We must restructure the way we see universities and knowledge-producing institutions. The number of teaching loads actually gets time from your research,” he added.
WEST PHILIPPINE SEA DISPUTE Outstanding Young Scientist Dr. Joseph Velasco identifies the mechanisms of how China perceives the Philippines all through the West Philippine Sea dispute by his examine.
Dr. Eldrin Arguelles, one of many OYS awardees, targeted on innovating a feed that improves the well being of the aquaculture programs and addresses the excessive accumulation of Microcystis aureginosa, a poisonous blue-green algae species, which causes dangerous algal blooms.
Aside from this, he additionally carried out a DNA metabarcoding and classification of microalgal organisms to evaluate the freshwater high quality particularly, on Cagayan River.
In the same discipline of aquaculture, Dr. Mark Nell Corpuz, one other OYS awardee, developed soft-boned fish expertise and crab fattening by an improved aquaculture system –leveraging science and expertise to change into a livelihood in his group.
Moreover, he’s additionally growing a device to observe the river’s well being situations targeted on the fish index, to contribute to addressing the native extinction of the species current within the atmosphere.
Yet, given logistical and budgetary constraints on its conduct, just like others, they shared that collaboration with different international locations is vital to successfully accomplish the examine and its additional improvement.
“Those opportunities that cannot be done in the Philippines, why not collaborate with other countries? And then do the research that is prime, it will still benefit, still benefit Filipinos,” Arguelles added.
OYS Dr. Cherry Fernandez-Colorado locked her expertise on detection and assessment of potential treatments for the African Swine Fever (ASF) virus, which targets both commercial and wild pigs.
“We are active in disseminating our research data so that we can help our farmers. And then for ASF, we have to also understand the virus,” she mentioned.
Currently, they’re doing an analysis of some potential vaccine candidates and identification of the precise pressure of virus affecting the pigs by genomic expertise.
However, public consciousness of ASF stays restricted, whereas sure native rules typically make it difficult for researchers to conduct illness surveillance and advocate acceptable measures to include the virus.
OYS Dr. Rohani Cena-Navarro, however, pursues discovery on novel remedies for substance abuse dysfunction which might be but to be beneficial to the Department of Health for affected person rehabilitation.
“We, as neuroscientists, provide evidence to show the people that addiction or substance abuse disorder is a brain disorder. It is not a moral failure or [must not be] treated as a crime,” she mentioned.
Although fronting it to deal with such and different related issues, she mentioned the nation has not supplied any diploma on neuroscience, leaving the Philippines “way, way behind” on this discipline.
“It’s about time to move forward, to offer, to start somewhere. How can we offer this [program] without a student who wants to study the brain having to go abroad,” Cena-Navarro added.
Joe Anthony Manzano, the primary placer of the NTSYS 2026, additionally shared that Philippine ethnomedicinal crops, reminiscent of Voacanga globosa generally often known as Bayag-usa, can handle the rising instances of therapeutic resistance in persistent illnesses, together with most cancers.
“It is time that we tap our bioresources and ask why and how, and many questions into their mechanism so that it would put forward our bioresources in the context of anti-cancer drug discovery,” the winner mentioned.
Meanwhile, Rance Derrick Pavon researches sooner Salmonella detection strategies and improves laboratory assessments to assist enhance the testing capability of regulatory businesses and strengthen meals security throughout the farm-to-fork chain.
“Without barriers, it’s easier for us scientists to deliver our results to action, or not just policies, but to actually reach these people who are affected primarily with these issues,” Pavon mentioned.
Meanwhile, these rising and established scientists, alongside different newly elected Academicians Dr. Michael Roleda and Dr. Imelda Angeles-Agdeppa; OYS awardees Dr. Ryan Michael Oducado and Dr. Joshua Eric Romulo Uyheng; and NTSYS third placer, John Vincent Pleto, have been formally awarded on the Annual Scientific Meeting of NAST PHL on July 8 and 9.
NAST is likely one of the hooked up businesses of DOST, which goals at offering science-based, progressive, and inclusive options throughout 4 strategic pillars: human well-being, wealth creation, wealth safety, and sustainability.
These pillars embody the mantra OneDOST4U: Solutions and Opportunities for All.
Visit www.nast.dost.gov.ph for extra data.