At the 1,090th Regular Meeting of the DOST-National Research Council of the Philippines (NRCP) Governing Board on 30 April 2024. Entomologist and former UP Faculty Regent Dr. Aimee Lynne Barrion-Dupo is the new President. DOST-NRCP was established through Act No. 4120 of the 9th Philippine Legislature on December 8, 1933, to advance research in the various disciplines.
DOST-NRCP's charter members in 1933 include Victor Buencamino (the 1st Filipino to earn a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree at Cornell, the 1st Filipino President of the Philippine Veterinary Medical Association and the 1st Filipino to establish a veterinary hospital in the Philippines), anthropologist H. Otley Beyer, obstetrician Fernando Calderon (the 1st Filipino UP College of Medicine Dean and the first Filipino UP PGH Director), UPLB pioneering professors Edwin Copeland (botany) and Harold Cuzner (agronomy), National Scientist Francisco Fronda (Father of Poultry in the Philippines and Thailand), UP President Bienvenido Gonzalez (1939-1954; 1945-1951), botanist Leon Ma. Guerrero (the 1st licensed Filipino pharmacist), botanist Eduardo Quisumbing (whose “Medicinal Plants in the Philippines” is the forerunner of all research on medicinal plants in the country), former FEU President and UE co-founder Hermenigildo Reyes, iconic UP College of Medicine Deans Antonio M. Sison (1937-1951) and Agerico B.M. Sison (1951-1960), forester Florencio Tamesis (the Father of Philippine Forestry), UP President Vidal Tan (1951-1956), UP Pharmacy Dean Patrocinio Valenzuela, and 4-time Far Eastern Games gold medalist for athletics Regino Ylanan (later, he became a physician, a 1928 Amsterdam Olympics coach, and the first Filipino to graduate with a sports science degree from the United States. At age 30, he was appointed UP's physical education director. He also founded the NCAA and headed the Philippine delegation to the 1936 Berlin Olympics).
Subsequently, Republic Act No. 2067, known as the Science Act of 1958 and enacted on June 13, 1958, led to the creation of the National Science Development Board (NSDB). Section 20 of this Act designated the DOST-NRCP as the official advisor on scientific matters to the Government of the Philippines.
Executive Order No. 784, issued on March 17, 1982, restructured the National Science Development Board into the National Science and Technology Authority (NSTA). In this new framework, the DOST-NRCP was identified as one of the science and technology councils under the Authority for coordinating policies and programs.
Under Executive Order No. 128, dated January 30, 1987, the NSTA underwent further reorganization, renaming the NRCP as the Philippine National Science Society (PNSS).
However, the agency's name was eventually restored to the National Research Council of the Philippines through Republic Act No. 6974 on December 8, 1990.
The DOST-NRCP's mandate includes promoting and supporting fundamental research to enhance the capabilities of researchers and research groups, offering advice on national issues, fostering a culture of research across sectors, and establishing partnerships with local and international institutions for collaboration in information development and sharing.