MANILA -- President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. urged the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL) on Monday to work with the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and its partners in crafting programs that will strengthen the country’s IP regime and boost innovation.

In his remarks delivered by Trade Secretary Alfredo Pascual for the World Intellectual Property Organization Asian Regional Conference in Support of Accelerated Life Sciences Innovation – Skills Development and Capacity Building, the President assured the Philippines’ international partners of its commitment to contributing to the global initiatives in health and life sciences research, development, and innovation.

The Philippines intends to usher in a renaissance of innovation or “FILIPINNOVATION” that aims to find modern-day solutions to its modern-day problems and make use of science and technology, especially research and development in its pursuit of nation-building, the President said.

“I therefore encourage the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines to collaborate closely with the World Intellectual Property Organization and all our partners present in this occasion to craft programs that will strengthen the country’s IP regime and contribute to our efforts in building the new Philippines that we aspire for,” Marcos said.

“I also urge everyone here to work together and harness the power of science, technology, and innovation as a catalyst for our post-pandemic transformation and our inclusive and sustainable development moving forward.”

The current progress, the President said, will determine the world’s future, as he encouraged all the stakeholders to continue to find new and exciting innovations for the benefit of the coming generations.

As a step forward, the President said that his government has launched the National Innovation Agenda and Strategy Document 2023-2032, geared towards improving the country’s performance in the Global Innovation Index (GII) rankings.

It also continues to encourage Filipino scientists abroad to return home and contribute to nation-building through the Balik Scientist Program, the President said, noting that in 2022, the government has successfully funded and implemented innovation grants in several key programs.

The government, through the Department of Science and Technology (DOST), also continues to promote the utilization and commercialization of technologies through various programs such as the IP Rights Assistance Program; the Tax and Duty Exemption Assistance Program; the Technology Innovation and Commercialization Program; and, the Grants and Assistance to Leverage Innovations for National Growth Program.

The President also raised the exciting prospects in health innovation research in the country, as he assured participants of the government’s full commitment and support in ensuring the continued success and fruition of these endeavors.

“I have the highest hopes that this conference—through the researchers’ findings and innovations as well as collaborations from the academe—would help create, discover, and adopt more impactful innovations for the benefit of our peoples and our global healthcare system,” Marcos stressed.

Currently, the Philippines ranks 59th in the GII, and the President said that the goal of the administration is to elevate the country to the top one-third of the economy by 2028 in terms of the GII.

“We believe that by addressing gaps and challenges in innovation inputs and outputs indices as well as in making continued investments in our educational and research institutions, we will reach this dream in no time,” he said. (PND)