FILIPINO inventors stand to gain more support in patenting and marketing their innovations under new initiatives announced by the Department of Science and Technology (DOST).
DOST Assistant Secretary for Technology Transfer, Communications and Commercialization Napoleon Juanillo Jr. said the Technology Application and Promotion Institute (TAPI) remains the agency’s main arm in helping innovators, scientists, and engineers secure patents and link with potential investors.
‘The DOST is aggressive in protecting intellectual property,’ Juanillo said in Filipino at a media forum on Tuesday. ‘TAPI’s mandate is to help our innovators secure protection for their work.’
The agency, he added, works closely with the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL) through what he described as a ‘superhighway’ for patents.
This is a faster process for filing and registering intellectual property, which he called vital in an era when ‘intellectual property is the new oil.’
Juanillo highlighted these efforts as part of Inno.Venta 2025, an upcoming showcase organized with Batangas State University to connect scientists and inventors with capitalists, venture builders, and banks.
The forum, he said, is meant to open conversations on what makes innovations attractive to investors and how research outputs can meet market demand.
‘These panels are a learning opportunity,’ he said. ‘Researchers need to see what the market demands, what investors look for, and how to size up opportunities.’
‘Innovation doesn’t only happen in the academe,’ he added. ‘A retired engineer or a young alumnus with a brilliant idea can just as well contribute to national development.’
The DOST also works with universities through its Knowledge, Innovation, Science and Technology (KIST) Parks, with Batangas State University serving as the first government-designated KIST ecozone under the Philippine Economic Zone Authority.
Juanillo described the parks as ‘high-tech marketplaces’ where new technologies can be displayed, tested, and linked to industries.
He said these initiatives form part of the department’s push to build a ‘culture of entrepreneurship’ among Filipino scientists.
‘Research shouldn’t stop in laboratories or remain on library shelves,’ he said. ‘As Secretary Solidum reminds us, science should be felt.’
Juanillo said the DOST is steering researchers toward fields identified in the country’s Strategic Investment Priority Plan (SIPP), such as electronics and advanced manufacturing, agri-tech, renewable energy, climate resilience, artificial intelligence, and food processing.
‘Science, technology, and innovation should drive our industrial transformation,’ he said. ‘We’re showing our researchers where the future growth sectors lie.’
At a separate briefing during the 8th National Research and Development Conference, DOST Undersecretary Leah Buendia said only around 10 to 20 percent of government-funded research and development (R and D) projects have so far reached commercialization, noting that the path from research to market remains a long and complex process.