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Innovation has been institutionalized by virtue of the Philippine Innovation Act of 2019. The law declares the policy of the State to foster innovation as a vital component of national development and sustainable economic growth. The law’s fine print sets an ambitious tone for innovation with a well-represented National Innovation Council.
It is sad to note, however, that in the latest report of the Global Innovation Index 2022 released by the World Intellectual Property Organization or WIPO, the Philippines ranked 59thamong 132 countries. This situation is a slight pushback to the country’s mediocre ranking in terms of innovation.
According to the DOST, the country’s weakest point is in the institutions. The Philippines’ innovation inputs dipped from 72 in 2021 to 76 in 2022, and innovation outputs from 40 in 2021 to 51 in 2022.
The ranking does not come as a surprise, but it reminds policymakers, government officials, and decision-makers of various institutions to respond to the innovation challenge. The lack of innovation has become more manifest as the country battles with several industry-specific crises, such as agriculture. Take the increasing trend in rice, sugar, and vegetable importation, even if the country has enough farmlands to produce these products. And let us not forget that we do not make enough salt despite being an archipelago.
According to the DOST, the lower rank in 2022 was primarily due to decreased performance scores in Knowledge and Technology Outputs which are mainly a function of knowledge creation, knowledge impact, and knowledge diffusion (pna.gov.ph).
The Philippines has imposed physical closure of schools for the longest time. Many of our students are deprived of hands-on experience inside laboratories to experiment with creating something new.
Many Filipinos have talents and skills in science and technology, but training and educating them is challenging. The other challenge is providing our innovators with opportunities to prevent their departure to other countries. Without these issues being addressed by the government, the Philippines will continue to stay in a state of suspended animation in the world of regurgitated ideas.