Panayam kay Director Atty. Gilbert Arbon ng Negros Oriental Provincial Science and Technology Office
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00:00 Science and Technology Academic and Research-Based Openly Operated Kiosks
00:04 of the Department of Science and Technology.
00:07 We are joined by Atty. Gilbert Arbon,
00:10 Director of the Negros Oriental Provincial Science and Technology Office.
00:14 Director Arbon, good afternoon and welcome to Bagoong, Philippines.
00:19 Good afternoon.
00:21 Okay. First of all, what is Star Books or Science and Technology Academic
00:28 and Research-Based Openly Operated Kiosks?
00:31 And what is the difference between these and Star Books Nature?
00:35 Star Books was established as the first Philippine Science Digital Library.
00:42 This technology was developed by the DST,
00:46 Science and Technology Information Institute or STII.
00:50 STII digitized their research journals and other library holdings
00:56 and placed them on a computer.
00:58 That's why it was called Library in a Box.
01:01 So the full name of this digital library is what you said,
01:05 Science and Technology Academic and Research-Based.
01:09 Kiosks.
01:12 Ah!
01:13 There.
01:14 The audio is gone.
01:17 Yes.
01:18 The audio is gone. Yes, sir.
01:22 Maybe it was muted.
01:25 Later, we will continue our interview from DST.
01:32 There, it's there again, sir.
01:35 Yes. Sorry, it's gone.
01:39 You lost your audio earlier.
01:42 So, okay, sir.
01:44 Please continue what you were explaining about Star Books.
01:51 Yes, sir. Star Books is a library in a box
01:56 that includes thousands of digitized science and technology resources
02:02 in various formats, text, audio, video.
02:07 And this is placed in a standalone information kiosk.
02:13 So it's not dependent on the internet.
02:16 Star Books Nature is a customized version of Star Books,
02:23 but its focus is on environmental concerns.
02:27 DST-7 and DST-STIA are helping to build a digital library
02:34 that focuses on environmentally protected areas
02:38 in the province of Negros Oriental.
02:41 These are the three areas.
02:45 Sir, these are the areas that you are talking about.
02:49 Are they already identified?
02:51 Are they in place, sir?
02:56 Can our students go there?
02:59 Actually, in our project, there is a component for public schools.
03:06 So we deployed a unit there, Star Books,
03:12 in a nearby school in a protected area in Balinsasaya or Twin Lakes.
03:17 This is the Cambaloctot High School.
03:20 And for Apo Island, the high school there is set to receive the equipment
03:29 once we transfer the complete set, including the solar PV system.
03:37 Okay. Sir, Star Books, the openly operated kiosk, and Star Books Nature are different.
03:46 So what is the difference and what is the goal of each one?
03:50 And how can they both be committed to these two projects? Is that right?
04:01 Yes, Star Books originally is a library in a box
04:09 with different subjects that revolve around science and technology.
04:15 So there are livelihood videos, K-12 topics.
04:22 But Star Books Nature is an add-on to the original Star Books.
04:29 So its focus is on information related to the protected area, like Apo Island.
04:39 So that we can emphasize environmental conservation and ecotourism.
04:50 So that is the difference between Star Books and Star Books Nature.
04:56 So what happened is that STI added Star Books Nature as an additional content
05:05 to the original or the existing Star Books system that it provided.
05:13 So that is what we deployed recently.
05:18 But there are still many computers that are deployed that have Star Books.
05:24 So we just added Star Books Nature content.
05:28 Sir, can you tell us about the different protected areas in Negros Oriental?
05:34 And what are the importance of these areas to the biodiversity of the country?
05:40 Okay. These areas are Apo Island, Protected Landscape and Seascape or AIPLS.
05:51 Second is Balinsasaya or Twin Lakes Natural Park.
05:55 And the third is Tanion Strait Protected Seascape, which is actually shared with Cebu and Negros Occidental.
06:05 So the importance of these protected areas in terms of biodiversity is really important.
06:17 For example, Apo Island Protected Area has more than 600 species of fish and more than 400 species of corals.
06:27 And to think that the entire Philippines has around 421 species of corals.
06:35 So we can say that Apo Island is one of the most diverse marine habitats.
06:42 And that's why it was declared as a protected area by law.
06:48 And Balinsasaya or Twin Lakes is a sanctuary of rare and endangered wildlife such as the bleeding heart pigeon and bareback fruit bats.
07:02 And of course, Tanion Strait has dolphins and whales going through migrating.
07:10 So we want to focus on the importance of these areas because they provide a treasure in terms of environmental concerns.
07:24 The places mentioned by Sir Anoche are really beautiful. I hope we can visit them.
07:30 We hear a lot of good things about the places you mentioned.
07:36 So it's good that more students will learn about the places because of the Starbucks nature.
07:42 How many Starbucks units are you planning to launch in the province?
07:47 And are you planning to expand it to other places?
07:50 With regard to our province, our project with STII, DST7 and STII,
08:01 we have four units, two for the public schools and two units for interactive kiosks intended for the tourist information centers in Apo Island and Balinsasaya.
08:16 But as I said, we have about 90 computer units deployed throughout the province that have Starbucks units that can be configured to add Starbucks nature.
08:31 So we'll be having probably 94 units and there will be more later on.
08:41 So we'll be expanding not only here in the province but hopefully with the support of the regional office of DST7,
08:57 we might expand to other provinces in the region like Cebu, Bohol and Siquijor.
09:04 I heard from STII that there's a region in Luzon that's interested in this, focusing on environment.
09:13 I think it's region 2, I forgot the exact region.
09:18 Okay sir, is DST7 planning to be available online?
09:28 As of now, I cannot say if our regional office will push through with it but it's something we are considering also.
09:38 Of course, since STII is the developer of the technology, it's up to them if they want to make this Starbucks nature online because they already have a Starbucks online.
09:57 Okay sir, I have a question.
09:59 The kiosks that we see, how many computers can students use in each kiosk?
10:09 If it's a stand-alone kiosk, it would be one at a time but if you add additional equipment like a router or network, there can be more students that can be available simultaneously on the computers.
10:33 But it depends on the hardware available in the school.
10:38 Alright, it depends on the hardware available.
10:42 It's a waste if it's just one.
10:44 It's a waste if it's just one.
10:45 It's a waste if it's just one.
10:47 It's a waste if it's just one.
10:49 But anyway, it's a good start.
10:51 I hope you will have more computers that you can use.
10:58 Yes, we hope also for that.
11:06 Alright, lastly, who are the members of DOST 7 in this project and who will benefit from this project, aside from the schools that you mentioned?
11:20 Okay, as far as our partners, of course our main partner is the Science and Technology Information Institute because they are the ones who developed the technology.
11:32 But we also have partners from different agencies and government institutions.
11:40 We have the DNR, of course, DNR 7, the DNR-Penro, a provincial office here, and we have the Negros Oriental State University, Siliman University, Provincial Government of Negros Oriental because they are the ones who provided the digital content, the pictures and videos, for example, of the wildlife that are included in the system.
12:09 But we also partner with the Department of Education because they are the ones who have oversight in the different public schools, not only in the province but throughout the country.
12:22 So, our beneficiaries, of course, you mentioned that we have a target of students, but not only students, we are targeting tourists and visitors to these protected areas because they are the ones who will benefit from the information and their experience will be enriched.
12:45 Because aside from seeing the place, their knowledge regarding the area, the different species available in the area, will be expanded with the Starbucks kiosk.
13:04 So, of course, if we put this, for example, in a mall, then of course the general public will be able to access the information.
13:12 Okay, thank you very much for your time, Attorney Gilbert Arbon, Director of the Negros Oriental Provincial Science and Technology Office.