The Filipino Inventors Society Inc., in partnership with the Department of Science and Technology-Technology Application and Promotion Institute, recently staged the National Inventors Week 2019 on Nov. 25 to 29, at the DOST Quadrangle, DOST Compound, Bicutan, Taguig City.
The five-day event put the spotlight on Filipino ingenuity and recognized the valuable contribution of Filipino inventors to the development of various sectors in society. The event honored outstanding Filipino inventors and their works in four different categories: Invention, Utility Model, Patent Pending, and Student Creative Research.
Derrick Tan, who showcased his invention–Buildrite SMARTBOND Lightweight Tile Adhesive–nabbed Second Best Invention under the Utility Model category. The product possesses an innovative lightweight composition, which merited the award for its multiple benefits to end users and also for being eco-friendly.
“We all know that the Philippines is surrounded by a thousand islands and to serve the need of tile adhesive of the whole country will be the main challenge,” Tan said during his presentation. “This is what inspired me to invent a lightweight tile adhesive to lower the transport cost by increasing the quantity of bags delivered per truck without sacrificing the quality of the product, which has 10% more coverage at 15kg per bag than a regular 25kg conventional tile adhesive.”
Tan uses waste materials from boilers that could’ve been disposed of, and if not properly done can cause pollution, forest fires, and respiratory health problems for humans. He did not only invent an innovative product, he also did his part to help the environment.
“Need is the mother of all inventions. I encourage the young people to keep inventing. Do not focus on profit, but focus more on the need of the society because profit is only a by-product of helping others,” Tan added.
FIS president Dr. Benjamin S. Santos was thoroughly impressed with SMARTBOND that he hopes for the product’s success not only in the local market but in the global construction industry as well. He shared in a speech that American inventors file about 1,000 patents per day and the Chinese are at 6,000 patents per day. However, only one Filipino inventor out of five million would be up to filing a patent per day.
Through the National Inventors Week, Dr. Santos and the Board of Directors of the National Inventors Week hope to encourage more Filipino inventors like Tan to file patents for their inventions. They are planning to make the annual event a national competition to give more opportunities for Filipino inventors to showcase their work, which not only has the potential to be marketable but also help in saving the environment.