DOST funds biofuels research
The Philippine’s Department of Science and Technology (DOST) will spend close to Php300 million (US$6.27 million) for research on biofuels. The department has three major program, said Raul C. Sabularse, deputy executive director of the department’s Philippine Council for Industry and Energy and Research and Development. An initial Php150 million (US$3.13 million) has been set aside for a vehicle testing facility in the University of the Philippines. “[The testing center] will be used to test the performance of vehicles that will be using biofuels,” he explained. The center, to be spearheaded by the Science and Technology department, will start operating by the second half of the year. Some Php80 million (US$1.67 million) will also be spent for two projects to pursue research on the use of bioethanol and biodiesel. (March 27, 2007)