from Rina David's column
Alyansa ng mga Grupong Haligi ng Agham at Teknolohiya para sa Mamamayan (Alliance of Groups Supporting Science and Technology for the People), or AGHAM
"Punongbayan, who by then had achieved national renown for his astute handling of the crises posed by both the Northern Luzon earthquake and Pinatubo eruption, was supposed to be the first nominee of Agham in its first electoral outing. But Punongbayan perished in a helicopter crash in 2003, and was replaced by Dr. Emil Javier as Agham’s first nominee in the 2007 campaign. Agham didn’t make it then, but Palmones is making sure that a broader base of members and supporters will sweep Agham to the halls of Congress."
Palmones relates that Punongbayan, frustrated by the lack of serious advocacy in areas
e Valley Fault System, which runs from Marikina, Quezon “we need to move to a different level,” meaning the science and technology community should try to enter the field of legislative advocacy to pursue their programs and push for both political and budgetary support for them. " the science and technology community should try to enter the field of legislative advocacy to pursue their programs and push for both political and budgetary support for them."