SUPPORT FOR INVENTORS — Virgilio Sangutan (center), chairperson of United Inventors Organization of the Philippines shows to reporters during the Kapehan sa Dabaw in SM City on Monday, copy of request sent to the office of President Rodrigo Duterte to prioritize House Bill 928 that will create a commission that will extend full support to the inventors and innovators in the country. With him are Dennis Mercader (right), founding president of Inventors, Scientists and Innovators of the Philippines and Josefino Tupas (left), president of Davao Inventors Cooperative. (Alexander Lopez/davaotoday.com)
DAVAO CITY – With the aim of providing enough support to Filipino inventors and innovators, a group on Monday pushed for the creation of a commission to boost their technologies and ingenuities to compete in the world market.
Virgilio Sangutan, chairperson of United Inventors Organization of the Philippines told reporters in a press conference at SM City here that it is time for the government to extend full support to the inventors and innovators in the country through the enactment of proposed House Bill 928.
“We already requested President Duterte to certify as priority proposed House Bill 928 because we believe it will provide the mechanism to provide the much-needed support for the Filipino inventors, Sangutan said.
The call was also supported by Dennis Mercader, founding president of Inventors, Scientists and Innovators of the Philippines and Josefino Tupas, president of Davao Inventors Cooperative.
Proposed House Bill 928 will provide for incentives and the creation of a commission for inventors and innovators in the country.
“Inventors during the time of the late President Ferdinand Marcos were in high moral due to the existence of a law, the Republic Act 3850 that provided incentives to inventors and innovators,” Sangutan pointed out.
RA 3850, also known as the “Philippine Inventors Incentives Act” was enacted in April 1964.
It also created the Philippine Inventors Commission that was under the supervision of the former National Science Development Board.
He added that the previous commission provided the technical, financial and legal assistance to inventors and innovators in the Philippines.
RA 3850 was repealed during the time of the late President Corazon Aquino through the issuance of Executive Order 128.
Sangutan said the abolition of RA 3850 also ended the services of the previously established commission to inventors and innovators in the country.
“An enabling law must be instituted to provide full support to Filipino inventors,” he stressed.
He also told reporters that the letter requesting President Duterte to prioritize proposed House Bill 928 was already sent to his office.
Proposed House bill was filed in 2014 but it was not yet deliberated for its approval. (davaotoday.com)
