By PR | 10:21 PM October 14, 2023
Ubay moves a closer step towards its aspiration of becoming a science city in the Visayas region after a study presented by the National Research Council of the Philippines (NCRP) noted the town’s strong points.
The National Research Council of the Philippines (NRCP) presented the results of the Ubay Science City Policy Research Project on Oct. 12 at the Panda Tea Garden.
The study was based on the Filipino Science City Readiness and Achievement Framework, which assessed domains including societal foundation, governance, science, technology, and innovation (STI), and trans-sectoral governance.
It is also comparative research between Science City of Muñoz in Nueva Ecija and Los Baños, Laguna and was presented by Dr. Segundo Romero Jr., NRCP member.
Ubay scored “very high” in shock management, a sub-domain under the societal foundation describing the town’s resiliency amidst various challenges.
The town has passed the territory requirement but needs to reach the required local income of P100 million based on 1991 constant prices valued at P1.02 billion in 2023.
Its bid is consistent with the national strategy for promoting science and technology based on national policies.
Based on the Cities and Municipalities Competitiveness Index scores, Ubay scored 5.8 compared to Los Baños with 5.3 in infrastructure and tied with Muñoz with 9.8 in terms of government efficiency.
Ubay scored 4.7, Muñoz with 5.2 points in Comparative Dynamism, while Los Baños had 5.7 in the category.
Meanwhile, the findings recommended the creation of a Science City Development Council to develop a Science and Technology (S&T) Investment Development Plan and establish a multiversity system mechanism for education while injecting S&T into all local government unit (LGU) plans.
The council also suggested activating a Science City National Network for both local and international institutions and establishing a community of scientists, leveraging Ubay as an ideal location for retirement.
Currently filed by Second District Congresswoman Vanessa Aumentado in the 19th Congress, Ubay’s bid started when then-congressman and now Gov. Aris Aumentado submitted a House Bill in 2017 to convert the town into a “Science City,” being home to a number of S&T research centers.
For her part, Rep. Aumentado expressed gratitude to NRCP for making the effort in the research study, especially with the outputs presented.
The event was attended by officials and members from national agencies, NRCP, PGBh, LGU-Ubay, and people organizations. (PIMO/JSS)
