PRESS RELEASE

NYPM-004-07

09 FEBRUARY 2007

PHILIPPINES WINS ELECTION TO COMMISSION

ON SCIENCE TECHNOLOGY FOR DEVELOPMENT

NEW YORK—Even as Ambassador Lauro L. Baja, Jr., Permanent Representative of the Philippines to the United Nations, prepare for his departure, the Economic and Social Council, in a vote of confidence and appreciation, elected the Philippines to the Commission on Science and Technology for Development (CSTD).

The Philippine Mission to the United Nations said the CSTD is a subsidiary body of the ECOSOC that was established in 1992 to provide the General Assembly and the ECOSOC with high-level advice on relevant issues through analysis and appropriate policy recommendations or options in order to enable those organs to guide the future work of the United Nations, develop common policies and agree on appropriate actions.

According to the Philippine Mission, t he Commission acts as a forum for the examination of science and technology questions and their implications for development; the advancement of understanding on science and technology policies, particularly in respect of developing countries and; the formulation of recommendations and guidelines on science and technology matters within the United Nations system.

The Commission has 33 member states elected by the ECOSOC for a term of four years.

Sri Lanka is the other country elected for the other vacancy for Asia to the Commission. The luck of the draw gave the Philippines a tenure ending in 2010.

"I am happy for the Philippines," Ambassador Baja, who also sits as vice president of the ECOSOC said. "Science and technology for development is one of the priorities of the country."