Recognition sought for Pinoy inventors

MANILA, Philippines - The Filipino Inventors Society (FIS) is calling for the holding of an Inventor of the Year award to recognize deserving Filipino inventors and encourage innovation among talented Filipinos.

The FIS, one of the oldest government-recognized organizations in the country, said that the Senate can be the one to select and confer the award annually among the Philippines’ crop of technology wizards.

Inventor Manuel Dono, FIS vice president for Luzon, said the organization is already working for the selection of the first Inventor of the Year toward the end of the year when the Senate would have its last session for 2014.

He also said that the FIS would come up with a timetable and criteria for the award and discuss the cash prizes in its next board meeting.

“We would want to monitor the progress of the inventions of all inventors who would want to vie for the honorable slot given to any inventor for that matter,” Dono said.

“If [somebody] qualifies, then we have to assess and reassess if the qualifications are really right as far as the criteria are concerned... Of course we will be asking some government agencies, including the Science and Technology Information Institute, to help us in assessing and coming up with a good nominee for the position. 

“We would want people to dream dreams and make good with their inventions. A lot of inventors have lost their enthusiasm, lost hope. It should not be like that. There is hope for as long as we live,” he added.

The FIS is supported by the Department of Science and Technology and housed within the building of the Technological Application and Promotion Institute, a DOST agency in charge of commercializing Filipino-made technologies.