Message of Support of Trade and Industry Secretary Cristina A. Roque at the at the IPOPHL Gawad Yamang Isip | Department of Trade and Industry Philippines

25 April 2025, 5:00 PM | Seda Manila Bay

UP President Angelo A. Jimenez, good afternoon. Undersecretary Bles Lantayona, good afternoon. Assistant Secretary Leonila Baluyut, Asec. Leny, good afternoon. DG Atty. Brigitte M. Da Costa-Villaluz, good afternoon. Fellow workers in government, colleagues from the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines, IPOPHIL. Private sector partners, distinguished guests. Ladies and gentlemen, good afternoon to everyone.

It is an honor to join you as we celebrate the 2025 Gawad Yamang Isip Awards. This is more than just an award ceremony. It is a powerful testament to the ingenuity and creativity that fuels the soul of our nation.

Let me begin by extending my warmest congratulations to the individuals and institutions recognized by this prestigious honor. Your intellectual property assets are not merely creations. They are catalysts for progress, elevating the quality of life for our people. You are the vanguards of innovation, the true game changers who are shaping the future of the Philippines.

I totally believe in really registering in the IPOPHIL because we need to protect our marks. We need to protect the copyright. That’s the first thing that we must do. I’m from the private sector, and before I even get started, we really get our marks registered. Actually, there was one incident that happened in Japan that they were really pushing the Barako coffee, but they completely forgot to register it. So, after one year of processing, it was registered by someone else. So we totally lost the name Barako. So let’s not let that happen to us. It’s hard to build a brand. It’s very hard to, but we must protect our name. So, napakaimportante ng pangalan so let’s protect it here in the IPOPHIL.

Definitely, the IPOPHIL will make sure that we get things done. We have to make sure that the names are protected. So, DG Brigitte, please make sure that we get this done for not just the MSMEs but also for the big players so that we can really get known locally and globally. Napakaimportante nito. So let’s take the name and let’s take this registering of our trademarks very seriously.

The theme for this year’s National Intellectual Property Month is on IPO and music. And today’s awards not only highlight those who have propelled innovation across various sectors, but they also feature the vibrant voices and creative minds that enrich and expand the Philippine music industry.

As you said, we were listening to music. You know me, I’m too distressed from my work in the DTI. I always have a small speaker in my car and I always keep on playing music so that when I get out, I have a positive outlook because we can’t afford to be negative nowadays. Out of 10, 9 negative, 1 positive. Doon na tayo sa positive because that could be the light at the end of the tunnel. Before I came here, the music that was playing was the song Handog by Florante. That’s a very beautiful song. They always play that in the presidential visit. So we can look back and then we realize that ang ganda ng music ng mga Pilipino. So let’s continue to listen to Philippine music and let’s support Philippine music and of course make sure that we get them protected also.

The recent report from the Philippine Statistics Authority underscores the significant impact of this sector, revealing a remarkable 7.3% contribution to our country’s GDP in 2024. This represents an impressive 8.7% surge, translating to PHP 1.94 trillion from the previous year. Moreover, the creative economy generated 7.51 million jobs in 2024.

Napakaimportante ang pagbibigay ng jobs for Filipinos. This is the main mandate of our president, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. We must get this done. He always tells us, Cris, make sure we get the foreign investments in because this provides jobs so our people don’t have to go abroad and be away from family. So let’s support the initiative of our president because definitely he wants us to bring in more jobs to the Philippines and to also level up the jobs. Before we had the usual low jobs, but now we’re really leveling them up to jobs that are getting well-paid, not just locally but also globally. So let’s support this.
Despite the growth in our nation’s creative economy, there is plenty of work to be done. Many talented Filipino workers in the music industry continue to earn less than 20,000 a month. Often compelled to seek income outside their passion to make ends meet. This is a situation we definitely cannot ignore.

In the trade shows that we’ve been doing for the DTI, I’ve also added music. So when you go to our trade shows now, it’s like a party place. The last time we got Philippine Philharmonic and everybody loved it. We only played Filipino OPM music. So everyone was dancing, everyone was singing, and you won’t believe, we have increased our sales tremendously by 49% from last year. And last year, we’ve also increased by 49%. So let’s continue to support the products of the Philippines and let’s continue to buy Filipino. We need to push the manufacturing industries and the products of the MSMEs. Kailangan natin gawin iyon. We cannot do this alone. I always tell our people, alone we can do so little, but together we can do a lot.
So let’s continue to help each other as we grow the products of the MSMEs. To ensure progress, we must remember one thing. It is imperative that no artist, no innovator, and no dreamer is left behind.
A rising tide indeed must lift all boats. And in our context, every note, every heartbeat, and every voice that contributes to the richness of our music economy. This collective endeavor aligns perfectly with President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr.’s visionary of a Bagong Pilipinas.

A Philippines where we generate more meaningful jobs, produce world-class Filipino creation, champion innovation, and instill a profound sense of national pride within us.

In closing, the DTI commends IPOPHIL for its pivotal role in spearheading national efforts in protecting the IP rights and promoting the development of IP assets of our people. We are really pushing the creative industry.

This is also one way for us to get popular, actually. We’ve had a lot of creative geniuses that have made it abroad, whether in fashion, in arts, in singing, and also artists. So we are really pushing this.

On May 30, we will launch the Malikhaing Pinoy, which we are really pushing aggressively. So we hope we are closing the entire Fifth Avenue in BGC plus the amphitheater for three days. And definitely there will be a lot of music, a lot of products to be sold, and a lot of artists that will showcase the Filipino talent.
By putting a spotlight on the Filipino talents that continue to bring success and pride to the Philippines, we are actively realizing the President’s vision of a Bagong Pilipinas, where every citizen can aspire to achieve a better quality of life.

Thank you, and good afternoon to everyone. ♦

Date of Release: 25 April 2025

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