NOAH staff, other projects’ science workers, still in limbo despite DOST assurances

Paul Christian Yang-ed

08 Feb 2017

“Ang alam ng marami ay iaabsorb [ang Project NOAH] ng PAGASA/DOST…[Pero] it’s all vague…Malabo ang transition…”

Thus said Rio Marasigan, one of the rank-and-file staff of one of the components of Project NOAH, three weeks before the project’s termination, in a consultation-discussion that science advocates’ group AGHAM held at the Audio-Visual Room (AVR) at the CS Admin Building yesterday evening.

In an earlier press release, the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) said that the project would be absorbed by the agency. But as of yesterday, some of the staff working for the project said that there is still no concrete guideline on the fate of their employments and the manner and timeline of absorption. They said that there were reports that components of the project would be incorporated into the proposed Philippine Space Agency. However, the government has yet to release its implementing guidelines on the establishment of the said agency, as well as the number of items to be opened.

Context

Narod Eco, another worker from the project, narrated the events prior to the project’s termination. He said that at its peak, the project employed around 80 staff working in four components of the project that were dedicated to a particular task. These components focused on flood modelling, storm surge mapping, geographic information systems (GIS), and landslide monitoring. When three of the four components were completed, he said that their project leader, Dr. Mahar Lagmay, was asked for a new project proposal to solve “new problems”. Their initial P140 Million proposal to add more areas of coverage was disapproved by the government, instead approving only P25 Million. In order to maximize the number of personnel that can be hired given the lower approved amount, Eco said that salary rates were lowered, and this lead to some of their colleagues to leave and work for the private sector or abroad. With the project termination looming, Marasigan said that there is no clear mechanism to “catch” those who opted to stay behind, adding that the science workers of the project might decide to work abroad instead.

Not only NOAH

Like Project NOAH, the PhiLidar project is set to end within this year. “May mga deliverables pa na di tapos kaya nagrequest kami ng extension but PCIEERD [Philippine Council for Industry, Energy, and Emerging Technology Research and Development, the DOST agency which directly handles the project’s funding] denied the [extension],” said Christopher Uichanco, a staff member of PhiLidar. He also said that they proposed extending the project to cover more areas, but they received a letter from PCIEERD rejecting their request. PhiLidar is associated the Disaster Risks Exposure and Assessment for Mitigation (DREAM) program, which in turn is linked to Project NOAH.

Unlike the four components of Project NOAH, PhiLidar employs science workers in other State Universities Colleges (SUCs) nationwide. More personnel are set to be laid off with the staggard way ending of the project within this year, although the exact figure is still unknown. Nelin Estocado, a representative of the Alliance of Contractual Employees (ACE), said that the fact that the figure is unknown shows how the universities, like UP, care for their science workers who are usually contractuals. “See, tanungin niyo ang CS (College of Science) at Engineering, wala silang listahan ng non-UP contractuals, wala silang pakialam,” she said. Contractual science workers, just like other contractual workers, do not enjoy the benefits of an employee-employer relationship that regular workers in the university or government have. Regular science workers have study leave and free tuition for their continuing education, Estocado says. The projects’ science workers are also not recognized as “scientists” since the title only goes for academic researchers such as professors, instructors, and research assistants, Eco added.

Science workers deserve better treatment, security of tenure

Eco also said that UP must recognize their contributions in these projects since they also contribute in to UP’s output in Institute for Scientific Information (ISI)-indexed journals, which give the university prestige. He also said that the university should also recognize that they are its employees who deserve better treatment.

Estocado said that DOST should be responsible for absorbing the displaced workers of NOAH and other soon-to-be terminated projects. She added that the government has no over-arching vision over what to do with its science projects. She also said that the government’s culture of short-term, project-per-project style of science research policy should be ditched.

‘Kailangan mag-ingay’

Jun Saturay of AGHAM suggested to the affected science workers that they must have a consolidated stand. Feny Cosico, also of AGHAM, emphasized that all of them must move quickly since the February 28 termination of Project NOAH is approaching. “Ang stand ng AGHAM ay institutionalization,” she said. Saturay says that public research initiatives like NOAH which have an immmediate impact on the people should be institutionalized as a long-term research track. A public forum is in the works to elevate the people’s awareness on the plight of science workers such as those from PhiLidar and Project NOAH. “Kailangan talaga mag-ingay [sa isyung ito],” Marasigan said.

[Editor’s note: It has been reported that the UP Board of Regents decided to “adopt” Project NOAH in its meeting on February 23, 2017, effectively preventing its supposed termination on February 28.]