ARMM guv's son wins int'l inventors Olympiad

COTABATO CITY, Philippines - The Department of Science and Technology awarded with special citation a Moro adolescent for having bagged the grand prize in the 2014  8th International Young Inventors Olympiad in Georgia last month.

The invention of 13-year-old Amin Hataman- biodegradable plastics made of edible coconut derivative nata de coco- had won for him a gold medal, giving honor to the youth sector in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).

Hataman, a student of the Fountain International School, is the oldest son of spouses Mujiv Hataman, who is incumbent governor of ARMM and Anak Mindanao party-list Rep. Sitti Djalia Turabin-Hataman, who both hail from the predominantly Moro island province of Basilan.  

The regional secretary of ARMM’s Department of Science and Technology, Myra Alih, handed over to Hataman a plaque of recognition during a "kanduli," a traditional Moro thanksgiving banquet, given to him over the weekend by regional officials.

Alih said that it is fitting and proper for the ARMM government to give Hataman such award for giving honor to the Philippine Bangsamoro community.

The international inventors competition, held in Georgia last May, was participated in by dozens of elementary and high school students from around the globe.

Hataman’s invention bested more than 40 official entries submitted by participants from different countries.

The contest was first pioneered by the Demirell Private College only as a local, regional competition, but eventually expanded a into more comprehensive international format, now involving 37 nations, including Georgia.

Alih said Gov. Hataman has directed the DOST-ARMM to conduct a comprehensive study on the invention for possible adoption by domestic industries and potential stakeholders.

"The governor wants the technology institutionalized because of its potentially good impact to the environment," Alih told reporters.

The biodegradable multi-purpose plastics the younger Hataman had produced out of nata de coco melts after three weeks of exposure to elements.