OCTA as an independent science advice provider for COVID-19 in the Philippines

We comment on science advice in the political context of the Philippines during the COVID-19 pandemic. We focus on the independent science advisor OCTA Research, whose publicly available epidemiological forecasts have attracted media and government attention. The Philippines government adopted a COVID-19 suppression or "flattening of the curve" policy. As such, it required epidemiological forecasts from science advisors as more scientific information on SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19 became available from April to December 2020. The independent think-tank, OCTA Research has emerged the leading independent science information advisor for the public and government. The factors that made OCTA Research as the dominant science advice source are examined, the diversity of scientific evidence, processes of evidence synthesis and, of evidence brokerage for political decision makers. We then describe the dynamics between the government, academic science research and science advisory actors and the problem of science advice role conflation. We then propose approaches for a largely independent government science advisory system for the Philippines given these political dynamics.