PHL space agency’s creation a step closer to reality

September 16, 2018

The Philippines is a step closer to the realization of having its space agency.

Dr. Rogel Mari Sese, one of the very few astrophysicists in the country, announced the sponsorship by
Sen. Paolo Benigno A. Aquino IV to the Senate plenary this past week of Senate Bill 1983, or the “Act
Establishing the Philippine Space Development and Utilization Policy and Creating the Philippine Space
Agency, and for other Purposes.”

In an interview, Sese said, “Though it took a long time, we are one step closer to establishing our own
Philippine Space Agency and our Philippine Space Development and Utilization Policy.”

Co-authored by Sen. Loren B. Legarda and Sen. Vicente C. Sotto III, together with the Committees on
Science and Technology, and Finance, the bill is also known as the Philippine Space Act.

Public reception

In his sponsorship speech, Aquino, the chairman of Senate Committee on Science and Technology, said
based on respondents in an online poll, “a lot of them said that we need to solve the problems on the
Earth first before we look up to outer space.”

“Yet, with the immense capability and benefits of space applications through a solid space program,” the
senator said in Filipino that he was convinced to push for the approval of the bill.

He said the space program “can improve disaster management, enhance the lives of Filipino farmers,
speed up our Internet and telecommunication systems, and help us build more livable cities.”

Sese said Filipinos can aim to further utilize space science and technology “by addressing and improving
our national security, disaster management, communication, agriculture, environmental monitoring,
science, industry and transportation through the Philippine Space Act.”

Space agency and development policy

The Senate bill laid out the policies to address pressing national concerns, such as safeguarding the
territory and sovereignty of the country.

Another is “to support and commit to the development, application and utilization of science and
technology that will foster patriotism and nationalism, and accelerate social progress.” This includes the
development of space technology and applications to the advantage and benefit of Filipinos.

The proposed law promotes space agency as “a sovereign right in the promotion of national security
toward the attainment and protection of national interest.”

It said that there is an urgent need to create a strategy for space development and utilization “to keep
up with other nations in terms of space science and technology.”

Sese noted that this must realized by the country’s policy-makers. He said the Philippines urgently needs
to enhance space capabilities and catch up with regional neighbors.

“In this day and age, developing countries like Indonesia, Nigeria and Bangladesh are already venturing
into using space capabilities to address various socioeconomic issues,” Sese added.

The proposed law also aims for the official representation of the Philippines in international space
linkages, and that the country should ensure that it abides by the international space treaties and
principles as mandated by the United Nations.

Bright future

Sese sees the future of the country’s space agency as bright.

“We hope that after Senator Aquino’s sponsorship of the PhilSA [Philippine Space Act] bill in the Senate
plenary, it will be similarly discussed in the plenary of the House [of Representatives]. We hope our
legislators, together with other agencies and the general public, would support and prioritize the
passage of this crucial and timely bill,” Sese said.

The astrophysicist is hopeful that the bill will be signed into law before the year ends.
The House counterpart of the Senate bill is also being tackled.

“The Congress [House] version was recently passed by the Committee on Appropriations and is currently
being scheduled for plenary discussion,” Sese explained the status of the House Bill 3637, which was
introduced by Reps. Erico Aristotle Aumentado and Seth Frederick Jalosjos in 2016.

“If these bills are passed by both houses, they can proceed to the bicameral legislative [committee] and
then, finally, to the president,” Sese explained. President Duterte has to sign it within 30 days or it lapses
into law.

Proponents of the Philippine Space Act are crossing their fingers.

DOST pushes creation of a Philippine Space Agency

Philippine Daily Inquirer / January 03, 2017

The Department of Science and Technology (DOST) is pushing for the creation of a national space agency
that will consolidate all space-related research and development ventures of various government
agencies and boost the country’s capability to become a space technology hub in Southeast Asia.

Science Secretary Fortunato dela Peña said space technology was a multisectoral concern in the country
that now requires a centralized organization to address needs in national security and development,
disaster mitigation, hazard management and climate studies.

He also hoped that the establishment of the Philippine Space Agency would be among the priority bills
this year.

“When you deal with this space technology… it is not only DOST. There’s the agriculture angle, resources
angle, settlements and human resource angles. So it will require some kind of a national agency,” Dela
Peña said in a recent interview.

He also noted that establishing a central office for space technology-related undertakings was one way
of catching up with neighboring countries that have long invested in the space industry.

“I think it’s high time that we have a space agency because, let us put it this way, we don’t want to be
left out by other countries that are ahead,” he said.

Early in 2016, the country launched its very own eye in the sky, deploying its first locally built
microsatellite Diwata-1 into orbit to provide essential data on weather systems, environmental
monitoring and disaster risk management.

The Philippines' micro-satellite program

Diwata-1 and 2 are part of DOST's 10-year P24-billion Space Technology Development (STD) Program –
presented to the cabinet in January 2017 by DOST secretary Fortunato de la Peña, and approved by
President Rodrigo Duterte.

The agreement is aimed at sending two satellites in space, with Diwata-1 being the first.

At present, 9 Filipino engineers from UP and DOST are at the helm for the continuation of the PHL-
Microsat program.

One of them, Ariston Gonzalez moved back to the Philippines after finishing his Master of Science in
Aerospace Engineering abroad in March 2017.

Reaching for the stars: Why the Philippines needs a space program
GMA News | October 15, 2013

Is it time for the Philippines to invest in a national space agency? Scientists say that we should, and
soon.

Reaching for the stars might just be the solution to many of the country's national problems such as
weather prediction, disaster management, telecommunications, and national security.
“When you ask an ordinary Filipino, the common impression is that we don't need something that's so
far out. But one thing that most Filipinos don't realize is that space science has a huge impact in our
daily lives,” said Dr. Rogel Mari Sese, assistant professor in physics and head of the Astrophysics
Laboratory in the University of the Philippines-Los Baños.

Space sciences brought us the GPS, allowed us to make transnational calls through satellite-based
communication, and began the foundations of the technology responsible for developing our laptop
computers and digital phones and cameras.

The benefits of having our own satellites

Before sending astronauts to space, launching the satellites will be the first priority should a space
program be established in the Philippines.

We could launch bigger satellites meant to provide faster Wi-Fi connections and more reliable
telecommunications signals across the entire country. That way, the technology would be truly ours and
not "borrowed" from other countries, even far-flung areas of our country will receive reliable
communication platforms.

Science advocacy partylist group Agham's spokesperson, Angelo Palmones, believes that this would
open doors to several possibilities, including telemedicine, where telecommunication devices are used
to help in providing health care to people far away.

Bigger satellites would take millions of dollars and decades to complete. But more recent technologies
allow scientists and engineers to build smaller, more robust satellites.

The picosatellite, also called the "cansat" since it's the size of a soda can, can be used for disaster
management.

“We can launch small instruments that can take an aerial survey of a particular area to determine which
areas are affected by, say, flooding. And it's much low cost much easier than getting a helicopter, driving
there and taking a picture because everything is automated,” said Sese.

Since it is a very robust technology, it can be adapted to different purposes, like aerial surveys,
environmental monitoring and scanning, and defense.

“It's technically not the satellite that we are thinking now na nag-o-orbit, but the technology is similar to
what is actually orbiting. The development process of that cansat and an actual satellite are the same.”

Another small satellite called the cube sat measuring 10cm by 10 cm by 10 cm takes two years to
develop. The technology is also so robust that the developer can alter its functions to meet a specific
need.

“That's one technology that we should consider going into. Kasi it's easily attainable, it doesn't need
much resources,” Sese said. “Fifty million is way more than enough for that.”

Sese said that the Philippines has enough professionals capable of developing this kind of technology.
Experts in the fields of physics, computer science, mechanical engineering, aerospace engineering, and
electronics and communications engineering can build a satellite like such if they work together.

“Yung nga lang hindi sila nagcocollaborate. But if we can get these people to work together, then in two
years, we can have our own satelllite.”

Absence in space, a threat to national security?

The Philippines does not have its own satellite, which means that we don't have direct access to space.
This is an issue of national security and is of vital importance to the Philippines. (2013)

“The moment that the other countries cut off our access to space, paano na tayo?”

Space is the “next frontier” and losing access to it will leave the Philippines lagging behind.

He also said that it is a huge security for us not to have access to space.

“Our election (results) actually passed through Singapore through Singtel. So imagine the security risk of
allowing a foreign country to have access to the potential results of the political landscape in the
Philippines. Pag minodify naman nila yun sa satellite, wala naman makakaalam. It's very easy to do
that,” he said.

“Our coastguard is not capable of protecting the whole territorial waters of the country diba? But
through satellite data, you can actually see if certain ships are actually trespassing through the waters of
the Philippines.”

Hence, the importance of having an agency that will centralize all these functions.

The Philippine Space Act of 2012

Palmones is lobbying for the second time a bill called the Philippine Space Act of 2012.

It attempts to create the Philippine Space Agency – a body in charge of all space programs and efforts in
the country. It will also be mandated to develop a road map for space science in the Philippines.

Among the agency's objectives are:

 to promote the peaceful use and exploitation of space and advance the knowledge of space
through research;
 to help promote national security;
 to ensure that space S&T shall provide economic benefits for the nation and help raise the
standard of living of Filipinos;
 to cooperate with other institutions in the country, or in other nations or groups of nations for
work to be done in pursuant to this Act;
 to expand and utilize scientific and engineering resources in close cooperation with and among
different institutions in the Philippines in order to avoid duplication of effort, facilities, and
equipment.

Today, the space program of the country is disorganized, given that it is scattered in different agencies
such as the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophisical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA),
the National Mapping and Resource Information Authority (NAMRIA), and the National Disaster Risk
Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC).

“Walang iisang direksyon on how we can harness information from the space to address disaster
mitigation, telecommunication, and planning in general,” Palmones said.

This set up, he said, causes misunderstanding and duplication, when together, they can use each others'
resources to help one another.

The establishment of the Philippine Space Agency aims to consolidate and centralize all of the country's
space efforts, and work towards launching our own satellites.

It will take about 500,000 million pesos to establish this agency, Palmones said. “Meron na tayong
existing agencies e. So may mga funding na ito.”

Sese's estimate is at one to two billion pesos.

Education for a sustainable space program

Pushing for the bill is only half the battle. Sese said that we also have to take care of the education
aspect and train people who would be experts in the space sciences. Otherwise, we'd have an agency
without the qualified personel.

“We want to have a sustainable space program. It's easy to have a space program. But to have a
sustainable space program is much more difficult. We need people who are trained, we need people
who are educated in this field.”

Sese said that we have to start training people now if we want a space agency established three or five
years down the line.

“Somewhere, we have to find the balance between the two. Number of people being trained and yung
facility, medyo sabay sila (dapat mag-grow),” he said.

It's not too late for the Philippines

Compared to Japan and the United States, we are way behind when it comes to space sciences. But
within the neighboring countries of Southeast Asia, we're somewhat in the middle.

Sese said that we're fifth out of the ten Southeast Asian nations, behind Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia,
and Vietnam.

Thailand has a good astronomy program, while Vietnam continues to improve with telecommunications.
Indonesia has the longest tradition of space education spanning over 90 years.

"In a way, there's still time for us to catch up," Sese said.

Why we're holding back

“We always succumb to the belief that we don't have money. And I disagree,” Palmones said.

“If funds are properly used and channeled to more laudible programs, matagal na dapat naumpisahan.
But simply because we believe that it's not necessary and we don't have so much money.”

Bangladesh and Vietnam, nations with lower gross domestic product (GDP) compared to the Philippines,
have established their own space research agencies in 1980 and 2006, respectively:

After 24 years of research Bangladesh launching its first satellite in 2015. It aims to “reduce reliance on
foreign satellites for cable channels and improve telecom services to the remote areas of the country,” a
report said.

Vietnam—which started its space research much later, in 2006—was able to launch its first satellite
VINASAT-1 in 2008.

“I think what is needed is there should be someone who would really push for this agency: someone
with the proper technical background and motivation to develop a space agency. It takes dedication and
hard work, getting people to involve, to be aware of the space agency science is a huge effort,” Sese
said.