To promote the capacity, capability and competence of Filipino scientists and researchers
ANGARA CALLS FOR THE ENACTMENT OF TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER BILL

With the slow capacity and attention given to applying research results and recommendations from government-funded research and development (R&D) institutions, Sen. Edgardo J. Angara today pushed for the enactment of Technology Transfer Bill.

SB 1721 aims to promote more effective use, management, and commercialization of intellectual property resulting from research and development funded by the government to the benefit of national economy and taxpayers and consistent with the needs of government to disseminate, diffuse and transfer economically relevant knowledge and technologies.

"Applying the results and recommendations from researches utilizes important figures generated by our scientists, inventors and researchers. Not does it only promote the capability, capacity and competence of Filipino scientists and researchers in their respective fields, it will also contribute greatly on issues that need intelligent decision-making and policy-making matters," informed Angara who chairs the Senate Committee on Science and Technology.

In many developed countries, technology transfer and innovation policy are very much at the center of their policies on economic development. Thus, the strong productivity growth recorded in the United States, Japan, European countries and recently India was underpinned by technological innovations that emanated from high-quality scientific research institutions. Their innovation activities are supported sufficient investment in research and development, highly capacitated research institutions, strong university-activities across broad spectrum of society, and well defined intellectual property rights regime.

"In the Philippines, however, we have to develop that sense of technological readiness and innovative capacity to be at par with countries that are just entering the development phase like India. The interference of the academe in these government-funded researches is perceived to be an opportunity to impart their scientific knowledge and merge them with technical knowledge to construct firm and tangible policies," said Angara, a former UP President.

This bill hopes to presage a stronger and closer private-public collaboration or closer relationship[ to industry; provide the framework that will promote coordination, integration and harmonization of all technology transfer efforts by various agencies in the country; resolve issues on technology ownership, and provide the institutional mechanism for developing a creative technology transfer capability.

He added, "It is important that we recognize the hardwork of our scientists and researchers. Through their insight-rich data, we can adapt, apply and use their various research evidences as considerations in our policy-making decisions."