The Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) conferred this year’s grand winners of the Alfredo M. Yao Intellectual Property (AMY IP) Awards 2023, highlighting the importance of intellectual property in business development and innovation, during the 49th Philippine Business Conference and Exposition (49th PBC&E) last Oct. 26 at the Manila Hotel.
Marquis Marj Jxzene Salazar, Seth Paul C. Babayson, Walvies Mc L. Alcos, Nikko Ardel P. Floretes, Francis Jerric J. Candido, Adrian U. Gadin, Mark P. Cris, and Richard P. Fabriag’s group from Samar State University bagged the grand prize for the undergraduate category with their invention titled “Mud Crab Attracting System with Application of Generated Frequency” or MASAG.
“MASAG”, in the local term of the inventors, directly translates to “crab”. Aside from using the traditional ways or procedures used in catching crabs such as making trolls, traps, and any other practices, MASAG helps in catching the mud crab in a different manner. It is used to attract, and catch the crabs by exploiting sound frequency that covers the hearing range of the male mud crabs. Currently, this technology can increase the catch rate at about five to 15 percent.
Meanwhile, Karlo Daniel Colegio, Jomar Christian Camposano, Clarence Guanzon, Paolo Valencia, Jan Lowell Buquiz, Mathew Harvey Peralta, Jesha Faye Librea, and Rosabelle Louise Caram’s group was hailed as the grand winner of the professional category for their innovation called “An Expansion Process for Perlite”.
The utility model is an expansion process focused on temperature and feeding rate which can be used to expand raw perlite sourced from the Philippines, this may be used in the production of lightweight concrete which contributes to more sustainable construction of concrete structures.
The process includes the determination of the expansion settings focused on temperature and feeding rate, as well as a tool with modeled distribution of particle sizes of expanded perlite output that can be used in common spreadsheet analysis.
Now in its 14th year, the award recognizes inventors, entrepreneurs, and students who contribute to the development of innovative and new creative products and services that make doing business productive and economical.
Out of the 50 applications received nationwide, the PCCI IP Committee shortlisted fifteen finalists using patentability and commercial viability as the main criteria with the assistance provided by the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines.
The inventions entitled “Fish Pond Water Quality Monitoring with Alarm System” by Mark P. Cris, and “Development, Standardization and Acceptability of Abaca Core (Musa textilis nee var tagakan) as Burger Patty Enhancer” by Joycee France Usero, were the runner-ups for the undergraduate and professional categories, respectively.
The final presentation and judging last Oct. 2 was chaired by PCCI IP Committee Chairman Antonio Ll. Sayo.
Among the members of the Board of Judges were PCCI Regional Affairs Vice President Engr. Enunina Mangio; Cruz Marcelo & Tenefrancia Deputy Managing Partner Atty. Patricia Bunye; Asian Science Diplomacy Founder & Chairman Dr. Glenn Banaguas; and Ateneo Intellectual Property Office-Commercialization & Incubation Group Head Engr. Benjamin Mirasol.
Other members include Department of Science and Technology (DOST) Administrative and Legal Affairs Assistant Secretary Dr. Diana Ignacio; Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL) Deputy Director-General Atty. Ann Claire Cabochan; Bamboo Exchange Inc. Chairman Rodolfo Pelayo; Filipino Inventors Society National Chairman Engr. Juanito Simon; PCCI Corporate Secretary Atty. Pablo Gancayco; and IPOPHL Counsel of Romulo Law Office and Former Deputy General Atty. Ricardo Blancaflor.
The AMY IP Awards is named after Alfredo M. Yao of Zest-o Corp., the very first recipient of the ASEAN Business Awards Outstanding Innovation Award.