04 September 2020, As delivered
Magandang umaga po sa inyong lahat!
The DTI joins the DOST and NEDA in announcing the good news, the Philippines has risen in the GII 2020 to 50th out of 131 countries up from 54 in 2019. This is the first time that Philippines reach the top 50 in the GII which recognizes the country as an innovation achiever for second year in a row. From 2014 we were just in the 100 and now we are in 50th. I think achievable po ‘yung sinabi na target ni Secretary Boy na 43rd rank and certainly we work hard in achieving that target rank.
Breaking down the country’s score our rankings in the GII input and output sub-indices continue to improve year on year from a rank of 76 in 2019. Our input sub-index rank rose to 70th. Meanwhile, last year our output sub-index moved to 41st.
Significant rankings improve from 2019 in of the GII’s seven pillars: market sophistication (from 110th to 86th); business sophistication (from 32nd to 29th); knowledge and technology outputs (from 31st to 26th); and creative outputs (from 63rd to 57th).
The Philippines improvement in market sophistication pillar can be attributed to the reforms implemented in ease of getting credit in the country. This was earlier mentioned in the Doing Business 2020 report wherein we moved and improved by 29 notches last year as a result of the 52 notches increase in the getting credit indicator.
In addition, the improvement lifted our rank in the investment indicator under market sophistication. These are attributable to the Ease of Doing Business reforms that we are implementing together with the Anti-Red Tape Authority.
Likewise, our improvement in business sophistication pillar is thanks to the effort done by the government together with the private sector. Because of the initiatives of the company to build competencies in their workers, we increased our ranking in the firms offering formal training indicator. This is an innovation strength of the economy that helped us ranked 7 globally. Together with the agencies, aside from DOST, DTI, and TESDA, entrepreneurship and innovation continues, trainings, seminars and now we’re doing more of this webinars and online training, as well as e-commerce training programs that we’re doing to continuously upskill and reskill the workforce in the country, especially focusing as well as to the increasing competency in the Micro SME sector.
Because of our integration in Hi-Tech Global Value Chains which covers the aerospace,
electronics, telecommunication, electrical machinery and chemical industries another strength of our economy is our hi-tech industries. This help to rank us first worldwide.
The GII identifies knowledge and technology outputs pillar as one of our country’s strengths. Our improvements in this pillar is due to the significant increase in our raking for utility models by origin from 15th to 8th globally. This reflect the increase in public recognition of the value of intellectual property for commercialization. I know that DOST is so much into this. This is also a key advocacy of our Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines.
Our strong economy sustaining the rise in our innovation ranking despite the challenges in other indicators. Because of this, we’re ranked 6th globally in productivity growth GDP per worker indicator. With our integration in the hi-tech global value chain another innovation strength of our economy is in the areas of ICT services and hi-tech net exports. As such, we are ranked 8th globally ICT services exports and 3rd for hi-tech net exports.
Lastly, our improvement in the creative output pillar can be attributed to the strength of our creative goods and services exports aside from the GII 2020 indicates that the Philippines has a strong and key participation 19th globally and in trade competition and market scale 20th globally. I must say, we are now exerting more effort in the field of the creative industries as we draw up and implement some of the elements in the Creative Industry Roadmap.
Our countries significant milestone in achieving the 50th place in the GII demonstrates what we can achieve the strategic coordination among government agencies and productive collaboration between public and private sectors. This is our key principle underlying our Inclusive Innovation Industrial Strategy (i3s) which we have been implementing since 2014.This strategy also continues to guide how we formulate and implement our industrial development plans and programs.
Likewise, this is reflected in our efforts to build Regional Inclusive Innovation Centers (RIICs) together with the DOST. This is done across the country, consistent with our Inclusive Filipinnovation and Entrepreneurship Roadmap. This is what has been mentioned also by Secretary Dela Pena where business and academe have closer collaboration, making sure that business sector utilizes and partners with the academe so that many of their products and innovation are researched-based.
On the part of the academe, they are basically turning out more meaningful and more relevant technologies needed by the industry sector. The Filipinnovation and Entrepreneurship Roadmap is the product of partnership with DTI and other government agencies, which includes DOST, DA, DICT, DepEd, as well as NEDA and the Commission on Higher Education.
The RIICs bring together stakeholders from government, industry, and the academe to collaborate and commercialize innovations. These, in turn, would generate better employment opportunities, hopefully a key effort that we will do as we recover from this pandemic. We’ll encourage more entrepreneurial activities, and sustainable economic development in the regions. So far, we have piloted the USAID, Science and Technology Research and Innovation for Development (STRIDE) program, The RIICs in Legaspi, Cebu, Cagayan de Oro, Davao and we are glad to see that the RIICs being driven by the Regional stakeholders and advancing their own innovation initiatives such as ORO best in the Cagayan de Oro and I-strike in Davao. What we are now witnessing in the RIIC is the “Filipinnovation in action,” this is what DOST Secretary Dela Pena calls the whole-of-government approach to inclusive innovation, and what we can now say the whole-of-nation approach as we involve the private sector.
Filipinnovation is the alignment and harmonization of innovation-related programs and services of government agencies in the RIICs. It is also when industry and the academe break down their barriers and collaborate on market-oriented research or in the commercialization of R&D outputs and technologies.
Moving forward, we are optimistic that we can enhance our performance across the GII’s seven pillars. I must mention that there are a lot of programs we are doing in the Negosyo Centers, Shared Service Facilities (SSFs) and even in the FabLabs that we are opening up in the different parts of the country to help the industry sector improved in their innovation.
Since 2014, we have shown that the Philippines can be among the world’s most innovative economies and through our collective efforts in government and in partnership with the private sector both in industry and in academe especially Filipinnovation will enable us to transform our country into an innovative and entrepreneurial nation. Let’s work together fully utilizing innovation and we can realize President Rodrigo Roa Duterte’s vision of a more inclusive future for our nation and give our countrymen a better quality of life.
Maraming salamat at mabuhay tayong lahat. Congratulations to everyone. ♦
Date of Release: 8 October 2020