US-based technopreneurs push S&T to lift Phl out of poverty

Manila, Philippines -  A technology-backed group of US-based Filipinos is urging the Philippines to strengthen its science and technology backbone as a way out of poverty.

PhilDev, formerly known as Ayala Foundation USA, said the Philippines remains a bit player in global markets.

“We have the buying power but we are not the creators but consumers of the global market produce,” said Diosdado P. Banatao, chairman of PhilDev. PhilDev is a public charity registered with the US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) that wants to develop “an ecosystem of science and technology-based entrepreneurship and innovation for social and economic development in the Philippines.”

Banatao is also the managing director of Tallwood Venture Capital, which focuses on semiconductors and semiconductor-related technologies. He is credited with developing several key semiconductor technologies and is regarded as a Silicon Valley visionary.

Speaking before a select group of Philippine entrepreneurs and industry leaders last Tuesday, Banatao said the Philippines must invest extensively on research and development (R&D), education and advanced education, and human resources.

PhilDev focuses on globally-competitive technology products and services from the Philippines, driven by innovative entrepreneurs focused on growth and job creation. The US-based organization “strives for a sustainable and globally-competitive Philippine economy by developing programs and supporting partnership initiatives in the four pillars of economic development of science, technology, innovation and entrepreneurship.”

“We need to discover our natural scientists, mathematicians, engineers and other talents, then work with the academe, the private and public sector and other influential business leaders to bring the Philippines into the global market of creators and producers, and not just consumers,” Banatao said.

PhilDev has been funding about P5.5 billion worth of scholarship programs for technology-oriented platforms in the University of the Philippines in Diliman, UP in Los Baños, Mapua Institute of Technologies, De La Salle University, Ateneo de Manila, and the University of San Carlos in Cebu, among others.

The group has been trying to sponsor a bill in Congress to make the program a permanent one, Banatao said.

“The strategic target is to be able to fund all existing colleges with engineering courses,” he pointed out.

At the same time, PhilDev is calling on the government to increase spending on R&D.

Banatao estimated that the Philippines spends less than 1.3 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) for R&D. In developed nations such as Germany, Japan and the US, it goes as high as 70 percent.

PhilDev is also looking at ways to get overseas Filipinos, their beneficiaries and the agencies involved to set aside a small portion of the remittances to go to investments for R&D, education and advanced education.