Colonial Pathologies

I was really intrigued about the concept in Chapter 2 regarding the concept of laboratory. To quote Anderson, the laboratory began to stand for, "a symbol of control, purity, and precision..." in colonial times. I imagine a spotless room with various activities taking place under scientific examinations by men in white lab coats. Andreson then goes on to explain the nature of the Philippines as a tropical laboratory and my picturesque image of the lab is skewed. The meaning of this term at the time, in essence, stood for a 'hygenic space for experimental practice.'
Personally, I have a difficult time reconciling the two meanings. As we are lead to believe, the Philippines was not exactly the poster child for purity or precision and the element of control certainly depends on the controlling body. The idea that Filipinos were subject to experiments essentially for their own good is unsettling. Again, we see the stigmatizing of an entire group (or race as the case may be).