National_Scientist_of_the_Philippines
National Scientist of the Philippines
Philippine government award
The Order of National Scientists of the Philippines, abbreviated as ONS, is the highest award accorded to Filipino scientists by the Philippine government. Members of the order are known as National Scientists (Filipino: Pambansang Alagad ng Agham).
The award was created on December 16, 1976 by President Ferdinand Marcos through Presidential Decree Nos. 1003 and 1003-A, which also created the National Academy of Science and Technology. For the purposes of the law, a scientist is defined as “an individual who has earned a doctoral degree in any field of the sciences” and “has demonstrated and earned distinction in independent research or significant innovative achievement in the basic and applied sciences, including agricultural, engineering, and medical sciences, in mathematics and in the social sciences as manifested by published works in recognized scientific and technical journals.” [1] It was elevated to the status of order in 2003.[2]