LIKE HALF OF HIS GRADUATING CLASS AT THE medical school of the University of the Philippines (UP), Manila, Edsel Salvaña grabbedhis diploma and went abroad in 2001, joining an exodus that has hobbled the country’s economicdevelopment. But unlike all but oneother classmate who fled, Salvaña came back.After stints at the Medical College of Wisconsinin Milwaukee and at Case WesternReserve University in Cleveland, Ohio,Salvaña says, “I felt I had the skills to successfullycontribute to building research efforts inthe Philippines.” He returned in July and isnow ramping up work on HIV and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus at theNational Institutes of Health–UP Manila.

Filipino leaders are hoping many morefar-flung researchers follow in Salvaña’sfootsteps. After decades of neglect thatresulted in a horrendous brain drain anderoding competitiveness, the Philippinesgovernment has recognized the need to reinvigorateits science base. One budding initiativeis the Balik (Tagalog for “returning”)Scientist Program, which helped Salvañafind a position and provided a salary and labstart-up funds. Another boost could comefrom a blueprint released in October by theCongressional Commission on Science andTechnology and Engineering (COMSTE) toimprove science education, expand Ph.D.scholarship programs, and raise researchspending. “We have been trying to get policymakersto give greater support to scienceand technology for years,” says COMSTEExecutive Director Fortunato Dela Peña, anindustrial engineer at UP Diliman. “Finally,there has been some passion building regardingthis advocacy [for science].”

The Philippines has a lot of groundto make up. Total R&D spending, at U.S.$81 million in 2007, has been stagnant for adecade and is a mere 0.14% of gross domesticproduct—weaker than Thailand’s(0.26%) and Malaysia’s (0.69%). As a result,the number of scientists andengineers conducting research inthe Philippines has declined 20%since 1996 to 8800, according tothe Department of Science andTechnology (DOST). In comparison,despite their smallerpopulations, Singapore has19,377 researchers, Thailand has92,800, and Vietnam has 41,100.During the 1990s, a tight jobmarket led up to half of Filipinoinformation technologists and60% of physicians to leave thecountry, according to a 2002study by Florian Alburo, an economistat UP Diliman, and Danilo Abella, aManila-based consultant. The duo also notedthat droves of high school teachers left forthe United States. Perhaps as a result, arecent study found that only one of everyfive high school physics teachers is qualified to teach physics. Filipino eighthgraders ranked 41st in math and 42nd inscience among 45 nations in the 2003Trends in International Mathematics andScience Study.

Filipino researchers have been brandishingsuch statistics at political leaders for years tomake a case “that the Philippines had to startcompeting with other countries in the region,”says Dela Peña. One outcome was COMSTE,which the legislature tasked in February 2007with producing a road map for restoring thecountry’s scientific respectability. The commission’spreliminary recommendations callon the government to give university researchmore support, establish national researchinstitutes, develop incentives for corporateR&D, and forge closer ties between public andprivate sector research efforts.

A key element of the plan is education.COMSTE’s goal is to accrete a critical massof researchers through a “massive scienceand engineering Ph.D. scholarship program.”“Manpower and research output from academeis the key to Philippine competitiveness,”says Reynaldo Vea, president ofMapúa Institute of Technology in Manilaand head of COMSTE’s education panel.COMSTE also proposes transforming severalhundred secondary schools into scienceand math magnet schools.After gathering public comment and sizingup the costs, COMSTE will finalize its proposalsby spring. “Our approach really buildson what previous leaders have started,” DelaPeña says. For example, legislation is in theworks to enhance intellectualpropertyprotections, and the governmentthis year doubledDOST’s budget to $110 million.The department has revamped andexpanded the Balik Scientist Program,which until this year onlymanaged to attract one or twoexpats a year. This year, DOSTexpects 50 returnees and evenmore in 2009. That may be atrickle of talent, but “we are confidentthat this program can accelerateour human resource developmentefforts,” says DOST SecretaryEstrella Alabastro. Mostreturnees come on short-term visits—withtransportation and per diem expenses coveredby hosts—to nurture collaborations and mentoryounger colleagues. A few, like Salvaña,come back full-time. Because governmentscholarships covered much of his educationand training, he says, “I feel an obligation togive something back.” As word spreads of theimproving research climate, Alabastro predicts,the trickle will become a deluge.