Filipino inventors are stepping up to help contain the spread of coronavirus disease 2019 which has infected more than 50 people in the country and forced the declaration of Manila under “community quarantine”.
Filipino Inventors Society Multi-Purpose Cooperative president Francisco ‘Popoy’ Pagayon says his group was challenged by Philippine Development Movement head Atty. Jayvee Hinlo Jr. to fill the gap in the supply of disinfectant solutions and face masks amid the threat of COVID-19.
“Atty. Hinlo, who is also a director of Land Bank of the Philippines, challenged our ‘inventrepreneurs’ to help find solutions to this crisis such as the lack of alcohol and face masks,” Pagayon says in an interview in Quezon City.
Pagayon says FISMPC will respond to the challenge by making available locally-produced alcohol solutions and face masks at the cooperative’s showroom at Cortez Building along EDSA, South Triangle, Quezon City as early as next week.
He says his group has already obtained an approval from the Food and Drug Administration to produce ethyl alcohol-based solutions. He says the products have anti-bacterial ingredients to fight off disease-causing germs but are not too harsh on the skin.
“Wholesale and retail buyers are the target market so that we can help ease the lack of supply in Metro Manila and the rest of the country. We will try our best to put them in our shelves starting next week,” says Pagayon who is credited for various inventions such as Portasol solar dryer and Probaton—short for police reconnaissance operation baton.
Pagayon says LandBank had expressed interest to place bulk orders for alcohol-based solutions for the use of its branches nationwide. “Atty. Hinlo challenged us to increase production to meet the overwhelming demand,” he says.
Pagayon says this is also in line with the program of LandBank to help inventrepreneurs as well micro, small and medium enterprises to industrialize their production so that they will attain economies of scale. “The idea is to become partners to industrialize the manufacturing sector,” he says.
Another inventor and entrepreneur, Edgardo ‘Gary’ Vazquez, is also using a technology he designed to help disinfect areas and surfaces visited by individuals who turned out to be COVID-19 patients.
Vazquez brought two Turbo Kool machines to Malacañang Palace, Greenhills Shopping Center and Wack Wack Golf and Country Club early this month for disinfection and sanitation activities.
The disinfecting team was organized by former Metro Manila Development Authority general manager Tim Orbos and Vazquez to combat the virus. Vazquez is the inventor of the mist-dispensing apparatus under the ‘Misty Kool’ trademark.
Vazquez says misting is the best solution to combat the virus on surface areas, as it lands on objects and lives for several days. Misty Kool transforms liquid solutions into mists to make it flow through the air and land on all areas.
“Only Misty Kool high-pressure misting system can convert the liquid into molecules and make it float in the air,” Vazquez says in a social media post.
The Misty Kool machine consists of a misting fan, high-pressure pumps, fine nozzles, switches, oil indicator, programmable timer, automatic shut-off mechanism, hose, 41-liter water tank and heavy-duty wheels with locking mechanism. Vasquez offers the technology in several forms such as a line machine, electric fan-type unit that can produce Baguio-like breeze instantly and a bigger machine called Turbo Kool.
The last product is a remote-controlled, elevated dust suppression control system that can blow cool fine mist hundreds of meters into the air that can capture dust and other particulates and bring them down to the ground. It can also lower temperature by 5 to 10 degrees Celsius.
Vazquez says that in engineering, it is called the flash point. Vazquez, who is also known as the inventor of the Vazbuilt modular housing technology, says that when water is subjected to a high pressure to go through a very fine nozzle, it automatically becomes mist and floats in the air.
He says that amid the increasing demand for his two Turbo Kool machines, he is building another one to sanitize not only commercial establishments but also ordinary neighborhoods. “It is perfect for heavy-duty cleaning of schools, sports arenas, malls, government and private offices, etc.,” he says.
Vazquez is also designing misting tents as well as mobile indoor/outdoor disinfectants to help prevent the spread of COVID-19 in communities.