Higher PH ranking seen with 2 new laws on innovation

MANILA — Malacañang on Thursday lauded the recent Global Innovation Index (GII) report which showed the Philippines rose to number 54 in ranking, up nineteen notches from its previous ranking of 73 in 2018 and 2017.

Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo said he expects the ranking to soar higher in the coming years with President Rodrigo Duterte’s recent signing of the Philippine Innovation Act and the Innovative Startup Act into laws.

“The Palace notes that the Philippines has jumped to 54th place among 129 countries in the Global Innovation Index (GII) 2019 with a score of 36.18,” Panelo said in a statement.

“We foresee that the Philippines will further improve its rankings with higher scores in all of the aspects for innovation following President Rodrigo Roa Duterte’s signing of the Philippine Innovation Act and the Innovative Startup Act into laws,” he added.

Panelo hailed departments and agencies responsible for the country’s improvement relative to its economy’s innovation development.

He also expressed hope that the higher ranking would motivate departments to further nurture innovation and create business opportunities.

The GII report described the Philippines as among the new entrants to the group it calls the “innovation achievers” and defined the country’s better innovation performance.

On April 17 this year, Duterte signed Republic Act 11293 (Philippine Innovation Act) to harness innovation efforts and enable micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) become part of the domestic and global supply chain.

Over a week later, Duterte signed RA 11337 or the Innovative Startup Act which provides benefits and programs to further develop startups and startup enablers in the Philippines