Manila (26 November) -- President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo launched today the country's "Innovation Strategy," a program designed to strengthen the country's competitiveness in the global knowledge-based economy and transform the Philippines into a technology hub in Asia.

The President, assisted by Commission on Information and Communications Technology Chair Rey Anthony Roxas Chua and Science and Technology Secretary Estrella Alabastro, pushed the button marking the formal launching of the "National Innovation Strategy" during the National Innovation Summit held at Shangri-La Hotel in Makati City.

Alabastro said the National Innovation Strategy, a private-public sector partnership, was crafted to answer the call of the President to hasten the achievement of the goal of making technology the foundation of future economic development.

"We believe that innovation is key to our national competitiveness," she said.

Alabastro said harnessing the creativity and ingenuity of Filipinos would magnify the competitive advantages, discover new strengths, and hurdle limitations "enabling our business enterprises to become more productive" and the people to get good paying jobs.

The strategy calls for action in four strategic areas, namely: strengthening Filipino human capital; supporting business incubation and acceleration efforts; regenerating the policy environment for innovation; and upgrading the Filipino mindset towards a culture of innovation.

Alabastro said the introduction of "Filipinnovation"—innovation by the Filipino for the Philippines and the global community, is the best means to convey the Philippine Innovation Strategy.

The President was also briefed on the proposals and projects that would enhance the Filipino's innovativeness, namely: the Engineering Research for Technology Program; EK Agrikultura; the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry's Resolution on the Incubator Technology, and the National Intellectual Property Rights.

"Preparing our growth sectors of the future enables us to tap the opportunities of the 21st century.We will promote fast-growing industries where high value jobs are plentiful…let us declare that technology is the foundation of future economic development," the President stressed in a speech in July 2001.