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The Philippines Joins Asia’s Space Race With New Space Agency

President Rodrigo Duterte just signed a law establishing a Philippine Space Agency, but this does not necessarily mean that a Filipino will be heading to space anytime soon.
philippine space agency
Photo by NASA via Unsplash

The Philippines is officially joining the space race.

The country may still be light years behind its Asian neighbours when it comes to space science but a new law now seeks to develop a program that focuses on the scientific field.

Signed by President Rodrigo Duterte on Aug. 8, the Philippine Space Act establishes the Philippine Space Development and Utilization Policy and the Philippine Space Agency (PhilSA).

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Following the new law, all efforts on space technology, space-related research, and representation in international space forums will now be merged under the PhilSA.

The agency’s creation was bolstered by the Philippines’ recent efforts to be involved in the conversation on space technology, including the launch of its first micro-satellite, dubbed Diwata-1, in March 2016. Three more satellites were launched in 2018.

Dr. Rogel Mari Sese, an astrophysicist and an advocate of the policy, said in a Facebook post on Tuesday that the new law has been in the pipeline for a long time, including three years of pre-legislation and another three years of legislation before it was signed into law.

Filipinos who have long dreamed of becoming astronauts, however, may need to wait a bit longer.

“Being pragmatic in the beginning, we [will] probably start off on continuing what we are doing, momentum on building small satellites,” Dr. Joel Joseph S. Marciano, acting director of the Department of Science and Technology’s Advanced Science and Technology Institute (DOST-ASTI), said in a press conference on Aug. 14. “But we’re not precluding the possibility that later on the Filipino will be in space.”

Space exploration is only one of the many reasons the agency was created.

According to the law, the Philippine Space Policy focuses on six key development areas: national security and development, hazard management, climate studies, space research and development, space industry capacity building, and space education and awareness.

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In an interview with ANC News, Marciano said that research facilities will be built in the upcoming development New Clark City in Pampanga province. Under the Philippine Space Development Fund, approximately $190 million will be dedicated to the development of PhilSA across five years.

In a January interview with the state-run Philippine News Agency, DOST Secretary Fortunato dela Peña explained that businesses can eventually explore opportunities in new areas aided by the space agency's discoveries.

Some members of the science community in the Philippines praised the new policy.

“It marks the Philippines' official entry into the Space Age and as a member of the global space community,” Sese added.

However, some people are also concerned that the agency may not live up to expectations. A social media user responded to the announcement: “We can’t even defend our seas, what more of (sic) space?” Others are concerned that the government is ignoring other sectors. "Can we have systems that at least function effectively before we look to the stars?" another social media user asked.

Any discussion on space technology somehow involves surveillance, navigation, and even military strength, all of which will affect civilian life in the future. In February, United States President Donald Trump declared space as a “war-fighting domain."

Up until recently, space research has been dominated by Russia and the U.S. Now, many countries in Asia are set to operate satellites, which are expected to grow in number over time.

The Philippines is just the latest country in Asia to amp up its space program. China has long had a space exploration program but just recently became the third country, following the U.S. and Russia, to ever perform a sea-based orbital launch in June.

In July, India launched a mission towards the moon’s south polar region, and will become the first country to have a soft, controlled landing in the region should everything go smoothly when it arrives in September.

The Philippines’ Southeast Asian neighbours Malaysia and Indonesia have also dipped their toes into space science with Malaysia creating its own space agency in 2002 and Indonesia operating its own domestic satellite system since 1976.