Press Release
August 3, 2010

PUBLIC PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS KEY TO REVIVING ECONOMY
AND JUMPSTARTING RP's COMPETITIVENESS

Senator Edgardo J. Angara identified Public Private Partnerships, which utilize the concerted efforts of government, industry and academe, as an integral factor in the development of an innovation culture that can boost the global competitiveness of the country.

The Congressional Commission on Science, Technology, and Engineering (COMSTE), which was created to assess the current state of Science and Technology (S&T) in the country, has already prioritized the cultivation of Public Private Partnerships (PPP's) which President Aquino recently highlighted as a key tool in reviving the economy during the State of the Nation Address.

"For the past couple of years, the top minds from government, academe, and industry have been working together to create new ways to stimulate the utilization of Science and Technology as tools to make our country more globally competitive," said Angara, who Chairs COMSTE.

He added, "These PPP's are vital to our efforts in creating a culture of innovation. In COMSTE we have broken down bureaucratic barriers that in the past have hindered public and private institutions from communicating and working harmoniously together."

COMSTE has identified critical areas for national growth such as Energy and Environment, Science Math and Engineering (SME) education, Health, Agriculture and Food, Semiconductors and Electronics, IT and IT enabled industries.

"The extensive research conducted by COMSTE and the expertise of its members led to prioritizing specific projects in Renewable Energy, Green Transportation, Remote Sensing, Disaster Mitigation and Resilience to name a few. These high value, high visibility projects can help jumpstart the culture of innovation that we are trying to create," noted Angara.

Angara also pointed out that we should build bridges of collaboration with neighboring countries that can expedite knowledge sharing and tech transfer. He pointed out that this will help the nation by minimizing on cost and maximizing output.

"Fast-tracking the development of our S&T foundation through enhanced collaboration with our neighbors is one of the easiest ways to overcome financial constraints. We have been in talks with Taiwan, Korea, and Japan who are all open and willing to partner with us with research exchange programs and tech-transfer arrangements," added Angara.

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