Balik Scientist Program: enticing Filipino scientists to come home

By Patricia B. Mirasol

The COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) pandemic has highlighted the importance of a robust scientific community.

Some of this year’s newly elected academicians and corresponding members of the National Academy of Science and Technology (NAST) are Balik Scientists, a program open to Filipino experts in science and technology who are willing to come back home and share their expertise for the country’s development.

“I have [relatives] who are also scientists. The problem is they are too young and they still want to be developed more before coming back to the Philippines. The Balik Scientist program is already very attractive for me. If you really want to serve, you can do a lot of things. The fee being given is more than enough,” said Dr. Annabelle Villalobos.

According to the Philippine News Agency, incentives include a one-time payment of P500,000.

The Balik Scientist program is open to all science and technology experts who are Filipinos or foreigners of Filipino descent, with graduate/advanced degrees, are internationally recognized experts in DOST’s priority sectors, and are willing to come back and serve either short-term or long-term. The goal is for them to share their expertise in order to accelerate the scientific, agro-industrial, and economic development of the country.

“I went back to Cabuyao to give back and help make more affordable knee implants for local patients,” said Dr. Ramon Gustilo, who went on to describe the attractiveness of a more enabling environment. “There are rich Filipinos in the US that want to come back, but (there has to be) incentives like tax incentives. There are hardly any.”

In an interview with Asian Scientist, Dr. Jaime Montoya of the DOST-PCHRD (Philippine Council for Health Research and Development) mentioned another challenge: applications being declined because the scientist’s family could not be accommodated for short-term engagements. “The program is still evolving … But when you become a Balik Scientist, more than the incentives and the research environment in the Philippines, it is the love for your country that will push you to come back to the Philippines,” said Mr. Montoya.