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Higher education is defined as “prime units for knowledge advancement and
generation, production and transmission” (Juanillo 2014 , p. 23). It must contribute
to the advancement, generation, and reuse of knowledge and to the translation of
accurate and tested knowledge (Juanillo 2014 , p. 23). Hence, higher education is the
“cradle of Philippine research” (Licuanan 2014 , p. 7). As such, it must “step up to
the challenge of building the capacity of the young to seek and solve problems,
think critically and analytically, conduct independent research and innovate, and
mold the future of Philippine research” (Licuanan 2014 , p. 7).
With the goal of increasing the quantity and upgrading the quality of research,
the Philippine government through the CHED increased the budget on research. In
2012, it reached 840 million and 278 million for the years 2013 and 2014, that is,
for a total of 1.1 billion in less than 5 years (Licuanan 2014 , p. 6). Such amount was
three times the total spend by the government on research during the entire 10 years
(Licuanan 2014 , p. 6). Despite of the increase in research funding, it remains as a
continuing challenge. The Philippines has the lowest research and development
expenditure in 2014 (0.1%) compared to its ASEAN neighbors (see the Human
Development Report 2014, cited in Commission on Higher Education 2014b).
The additional budget for research was intended to improve the capacity of
higher educational institutions to do research and to increase their research output.
The Philippines has the lowest research output (see Thompson Reuters, cited in
Pascual 2013 ) and impact (Juanillo 2014 , p. 32) compared to its ASEAN neighbors.
That is why the number of publication as well as its impact are some of the chal-
lenges that Philippine higher education needs to overcome.
To promote research and to develop the culture and environment of research in
higher education, the CHED published the Education Research Journal (see Garcia
2001 ). So far, the journal has two issues. The first one was in 2001 and the latest was
in 2006. These two issues published the researches funded by the CHED. These
journals are not only years apart. There themes are also extremely different. The
articles published in the 2001 issue are on education. Articles discuss about support
structures for education program, teaching expertise in higher education, university-
industry linkage, supply and demands for graduates, and practices of centers of
excellence. The 2006 issue published articles on marine protected areas in the
Visayas Islands, Philippines. These articles discuss about the “biophysical assess-
ment and monitoring and social profiling of local communities and stakeholders
who are dependent on coastal and marine resources and are responsible for the
protection and management of these resources in the Visayas” (see Alcala 2006 ).
It is very clear that in the span of 5 years, there is a change in research themes,
from education to marine science (i.e., marine protected areas). The change in the
themes is due to the shift in the research thrust in higher education, that is, to high-
light research as an integral component of national development. That is why the
CHED would like to give emphasis on agriculture, natural resources, industry, envi-
ronment, and social issues. This shift is also geared toward addressing the problems
of poverty, food security, and the impact of climate change. The CHED defines now
a good research in higher education as that contributes not only to existing knowl-
edge and classroom instruction but also to the developmental needs of the society.
C.B.S. Bustamante