PICC, Pasay City
October 14, 2022

President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. expressed his admiration towards the notable contributions and sacrifices made by Filipino scientists in elevating their countrymen’s quality of life through research and development initiatives.

“It is very heartwarming to see that you have chosen to return to the Philippines to use your expertise to help improve the lives of Filipino people, and I know that this decision in many cases has meant a potential loss of opportunities,” said President Marcos Jr. in his keynote address in the 8th Annual Balik Scientist Program (BSP) Convention in Pasay City.

“Allow me to extend my heartfelt gratitude, and from not only from myself but from the entire country, to our scientists, for your service to the nation. Your contributions to the development of science and technology in the country have been truly remarkable,” he added.

Within a two-year span from 2020 to 2022, there are a total of 34 Balik Scientists under 67 engagements. The BSP has already engaged a total of 603 Balik Scientists under 773 engagements from 1975 to 2022.

The Chief Executive reiterated the importance of mitigating the effects of climate change and emphasized that the role of the Filipino scientists would play a crucial part in finding solutions to this global issue.

“In this day and age, everything that we discuss, everything that we plan, we have to take into account climate change. And that is something that I believe is the same situation for everyone else around the world,” President Marcos Jr. said, stressing further that climate change significantly affects every single part of governance.

“After all, even if we belong to different fields, we perform different tasks, we share a unified goal of achieving a brighter and more progressive Philippines for us all,” he stated.

Established in 1975, the BSP seeks to provide more opportunities for local scientists and boost the science, technology and innovation capacity of the country. Through the enactment of Republic Act 11035 or the Balik Scientist Act of 2018, the program grants Balik Scientists with competitive benefits such as daily subsistence allowance, health insurance and roundtrip airfare, among others.

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