DOST embarks on four-year biotechnology program

In a bid to make the Philippines the leader in biotechnology industry in Southeast Asia, the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) has embarked on a four-year program to step up research and development of various agri-biotech products in the country.

DOST Secretary Estrella Alabastro said the Philippines enjoys a "competitive edge" in biotechnology because biology training and research are being developed in the country at the moment.

For one, the country boasts of well-trained scientists and technologists. Second, the Philippines is rich in diverse flora and fauna, which are excellent sources for biological processes, Alabastro said.

"The Philippines is aiming to establish its niche in the booming global bio-enterprise, with biotechnology counted as a potential export-revenue generator," Alabastro said.

Because of the country’s competitive edge in biodiversity, the Export Development Council has recently included biotechnology as a new sector in its Cluster Strategy for export development.

DOST with the Department of Agriculture will handle the project.

Under the DOST’s Biotechnology Research and Development (R&D) Agenda for 2006-2010, biotechnology projects have been classified into food, industrial, environmental, medicine and health, agricultural and forest and marine and aquatic biotechnology.

Each area has been assigned to the DOST’s R&D councils which, in turn, will conduct and pursue research and development.

Under the set-up, the DOST’s Philippine Council for Agriculture, Forestry and Natural Resources Research and Development (PCCARD) will head research and development for agriculture, forestry and environment that includes the development of transgenics, conventional biotech products, and bioremediation.

Transgenics, or gene splicing, involves transferring genetic material from one organism to the genetic material of another.

PCCARD’s research will focus on transgenics such as the development of the Ringspot Virus (PRSV)-resistant transgenic papaya and delayed ripening papaya, the cloning of genes from coconut and more conventional biotechnology studies.

The Philippine Council for Aquatic Marine Research and Development, for its part, will handle marine and aquatic resources, and environment in general. This involves bioactive compounds, diagnostics, genetic improvement and bioremediation.

The Philippine Council will handle health, which involves research and development on vaccines and bioactive compounds.

The Philippine Council for Industry and Energy Research and Development will concentrate on functional food and biofuels, including coco-methyl ester, bioethanol and biodiesel from Jatropha curcas.

The Philippine Council for Advanced Science and Technology Research and Development, on the other hand, will be in charge of specialized fields such as bioinformatics, genomics, proteomics, metabolomics, forensic science, diagnostics, biosafety, food safety and intellectual property management of biotechnologies.

The National Research Council of the Philippines will handle the screening and taxonomic studies, which will involve basic research.

Biotechnology will be divided into the categories of genetically modified technology and non-GM technology or conventional biotech to address the problems arising from policy issues associated with transgenics or GM products. — Sheila Crisostomo