Ladies and gentlemen, magandang umaga po sa inyong lahat.

Thank you to our good friend Director-General Rowel Barba and the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL) for inviting us to grace this launch. We would like to congratulate IPOPHL for the past few months of aggressively protecting our rights holders, especially with the rise of cybercrimes. IPOPHL has also been steadfast in empowering our businesses and micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) to see a silver lining during the current COVID-19 pandemic through the promise of their intellectual property (IP).

This launch is one of IPOPHL’s many contributions toward post-pandemic nation-building, and also adds to the promise of President Rodrigo Roa Duterte in his State of the Nation Address (SONA) the other day toward the full recovery and revitalization of our country. More importantly, this project also magnifies IPOPHL’s role in promoting access to innovation and creativity.

Patent search documents provide rich technological information that is the lifeblood of innovation. This must be leveraged by businesses if they want to map out their strategy based on the latest trends, which would lead to stronger IP ownership and provide them with greater valuation. What’s more, this information can also be harnessed by researchers and the academe so that they won’t waste time and resources duplicating already existing innovations as explained also in earlier videos.

However, patent search is complex and requires high skill. Thanks to IPOPHL’s creation of this report and their expertise, we can now conveniently access patent information that would offer better and more relevant solutions to the present challenges faced by our society. For example, better access to patent information on anti-COVID agents could be the first step for our country to develop manufacturing capabilities on COVID-19 vaccines. Even President Duterte has expressed confidence in Filipino innovation by stating during the SONA: “I am sure that the Filipino brain can also process or make vaccines in the future.”

Likewise, this contribution by IPOPHL to keep the “bayanihan” spirit burning makes us optimistic of our country’s future in manufacturing. Last year, klaro po sa ating mga alaala kung paano namroblema ang ating bansa sa kakulangan ng PPEs. Ngunit sa atin pong pakikipagtulungan—ang pamahalaan, academe, at private sector––ngayon po ay mayroon na tayong PPE manufacturing industry. Salamat sa Board of Investments (BOI), salamat din sa mga grupo ng garments and wearable exporters at sila po ay tumugon sa hamon ng gobyerno na magkaroon tayo ng mga PPE manufacturing industry. Presently, we have the Confederation of Philippine Manufacturers of PPE, which has brought jobs and even saved jobs.

Ito po ‘yung mga nagtatrabaho sa kanilang factory noong humina itong exports natin sa garments a few months, ito po ‘yung mga nasalba, para magkaroon pa rin sila ng continuing na trabaho.

We are optimistic we can replicate this success in vaccine and drug manufacturing in the country. We can build a thriving local industry, boost R&D, create jobs, and lower drug prices in the country. But, of course, we will need large investments, high-level technical expertise, and many more to achieve this goal.

Rest assured though that the government remains committed to support manufacturers, especially in streamlining the process and lowering costs.

Tuloy-tuloy po ang pagpasok muli ng ating investments despite the pandemic. The past few months, triple digit growth po ang growth rate ng ating investments. Ang unemployment bumababa, exports double digit growth. 72% followed by a 29% last May of this year. This is a sign of our economy’s steady recovery and the positive impact of the passage of the game-changing Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises (CREATE) law. Sana po magtuloy-tuloy pa, hindi po tayo maapektuhan ng Delta variant. Napaka-ingat po ng reopening na ginagawa natin, in fact, ngayong general community quarantine (GCQ) with heightened restrictions tayo, hindi po tayo GCQ na regular. Tayo po ay nag-ingat kaagad noong nabalitaan nating may Delta cases sa ating bansa. Furthermore, marami po tayong kinakausap na vaccine manufacturers para ma-achieve ang pag-establish fill-and-finish facilities and that’s also a good start for something bigger and better in the future, thanks to our partners from the private sector.

We are also glad that President Duterte had called on Congress to create a law creating a Center for Disease Prevention and Control, as well as the Virology and Vaccine Institute of the Philippines. These proposed agencies will undoubtedly help to support the development of our country’s vaccine manufacturing capabilities. Salamat po sa DOST at sa DOH.

Once again, we thank IPOPHL for launching this project. We hope that through this launch, more Filipinos in the innovation space are made more aware of patent search and information, as well as its importance when preparing for R&D. We urge local businesses to take advantage of IPOPHL’s service, so that they can turn their R&D projects into IP products to boost their recovery and long-term competitive advantage.

Again, as President Duterte said yesterday, a peaceful and prosperous Philippines is no longer a distant dream if we would continue to take the opportunity to work together.

Maraming salamat po at mabuhay tayong lahat! ♦

Date of Release: 28 July 2021