FILIPINO INVENTIONS AND INNOVATIONS -

“As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God”- 1 Peter 4:10

Lots of Filipinos are inventive, male and female. As former Public Relations Officer of Filipino Inventors Society, Inc., for three years and now as a regular member, I am experiencing the pleasure of being with gifted Pinoy inventors particularly in our monthly general assembly.

I’ m also an inventor, however feeling ko I’m different from them. Kasi almost all of them are easy-going, not like me na kahit saan ako naroroon, I always think of my invention seriously. Many of them are already in their 40s, some are around 70 years old senior citizens but they are acting as school boys and girls in our general assemblies, joking, teasing each other, talking and laughing aloud even in the middle of the conference. Ang nangyayari kapag asar na talaga ang aming presidente who presides the meeting sisigaw din ito ng “Stop! Listen or I have to end this session!”

Pero ang kakulitan ng grupo namin what makes us closer with each other like brothers and sisters. But maybe our easy-going or down-to-earth attitude is the crucial weakness of our society (Filipino Inventors Society, Inc.). Hindi kami seryoso at hindi nagkakaisa sa pagkulit sa gobyerno ng aming mga pangangailangan – financial, technical at promotional supports- para maging viable commercially ang invention ng bawat isa.

Maybe this is the reason why the government is really not serious enough to help us or to deal with us to become competitive in the business-related arena.

Maybe we must portray our society as a truly important and respectable one body mature enough to deal with in terms of commercial capability of our inventions. And maybe FIS, Inc. as a group should study the approach of some renowned inventors/innovators so that our inventions are able to compete in the market at mapakinabangan ng publiko.

As individual inventor/innovator maging “good stewards of the manifold grace of God” tayo.

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In the Leaders in Innovation Fellowship held at the Asian Institute of Management last August 2, the focus of the discussion is on the inventions/innovations marketability. One significant thing which I observed was the inventors’/innovators’ preparedness to “go to war.” They came as a group; each had credible leader as presenter. There are at least 15 participants but I have to publish the only two inventions/innovations which are already registered to the Intellectual Property Office Philippines (IPOPhl) and also because of obvious reason… limited page.

Reinforced with power point presentations, each presenter was armed with vital details about his/her group’s invention/innovation.

Following are the 2 presenters whose technologies are essentials to their field of interest and are ready for commercialization.

Dr. Ruel M. Mojica, Professor at the Cavite State University

Dr. Mojica’s technology has a patent application for invention titled: NIR Instrument, A Complete Soil Health Care Solution.

On his presentation Dr. Mojica tackled the main problem of the Filipino farmers. He said: “The fact that Filipino farmers remain to be poorest among the poor can be attributed to its root cause, the lack of knowledge. With the limited information on the different soil properties, cost of inputs remains high and unaffordable leading to low farm productivity. Meanwhile, lacks of knowledge on different bean properties limit the farmers’ opportunities to produce high quality products. In essence, both problems in production and processing could be addressed through enriching their knowledge on soil and bean properties.”

Therefore, he emphasized: “Our solution is Near Infrared Spectroscopy (NIR) Instrument. It is a powerful tool which uses a near infrared technology to measure combined NPK, moisture, pH content of the soil all at the same time within seconds.”

Furthermore he said: “It has simple and creative design that makes it portable and easy-to-use. It offers opportunities for continuous innovation from being a simple product to a service relevant to the needs of the farmers. It is managed by experienced and passionate personnel who can assist customers in their concern.”

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Ms. Evangeline Flor P. Manalang, Senior Science Research Specialist at the Research and Development Division, Philippine Textile Research Institute

Her product with three (3) Utility Models granted by the IPOPhl valid until 2022 is titled Mosquito RE-COIL Mosquito-Repellent Textile.

Mosquito-borne diseases are the problems being addressed by her product. She explained on her presentation, “Global warming rises in number of mosquito-borne diseases such as dengue, malaria, and Zika. The worldwide incidence of dengue hemorrhagic fever has risen 30-fold in the past 30 years. In the Philippines, dengue is the most common among mosquito-borne diseases.”

Result of their research, she added, “Per DOH report, in 2017, a total of 131,827 dengue cases were reported nationwide. Ages of cases ranges from less than 1 month to 98 years old wherein most of the cases (22.2%) belonged to the 5-9 years age group. There were 732 deaths reported.”

According to her, “because there is still no effective vaccine available to control such diseases, prevention is usually done through application of mosquito-repellents on skin. However, the topical repellent lasts only for a few hours while some are considered harmful as they are being applied directly on skin.”

Target markets: 1. Textile finishing mills for the production of mosquito-repellent textiles. 2. Apparel, home textiles, and craft manufacturers.

Target users: 1. Families (especially children and pregnant mothers) 2. Travellers/Nature enthusiasts.

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Leaders in Innovation Fellowships are being sponsored by the Newton Agham, Royal Academy of Engineering, Department of Science and Technology (DOST) and Asian Institute of Management.

The Newton Agham (Science) Program is a collaboration between the United Kingdom and the Philippines to advance science, research, and innovation. The UK government, through its embassy in the Philippines, works with UK delivery partners and Philippine science and innovation institutions to implement programs that strengthen science and innovation capacity.

Royal Academy of Engineering, as UK’s national academy for engineering, brings together the most successful and talented engineers from across the engineering sectors for a shared purpose; to advance and promote excellence in engineering.

DOST, originally established as the National Science and Development Board (NSDB) on June 13, 1958, and reconstituted as the National Science and Technology Authority (INSTA) on March 17, 1981 with the vision of “A competent and competitive science and technology community with a social conscience.”

The Asian Institute of Management (AIM) is an Asian pioneer in management education. The institute was founded in 1968 by a consortium of prominent business leaders, Philippine academic institutions, and the Harvard Business School.

AIM is the first school in Southeast Asia to receive accreditation from the US-based Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB), globally recognized as having the world’s highest standards. BUTCH ROLDAN