Philippines’ Innovation Performance Spotlighted at IPOPHL GII 2025 Launch
September 22, 2025
Taguig City, Metro Manila — The Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL) held a viewing session last Tuesday, September 16 to witness the launch of the 2025 Global Innovation Index (GII).
The GII, published annually by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), is a report ranking economies worldwide according to their capacity for innovation. The report utilizes a broad range of metrics, considering such inputs as a country’s political and regulatory environment, state of education and research capacity, infrastructure, and credit and investment climate, as well as outputs in terms of technology and intangible assets. Around 80 indicators are taken into account in determining a country’s GII scores and resulting rank.
The Philippines claimed the 50th rank this year, a leap from 53rd in 2024 signaling the robust health of the country’s innovation landscape amid global challenges. The country has also maintained its previous classification as an innovation overperformer, scoring significantly above the predicted range in relation to GDP per capita.
In his opening speech, WIPO Director General Daren Tang directed attention to “the continued vibrancy of emerging economies,” which suggests innovation has become a significant policy priority for governments across the economic spectrum.
“I think all of these reflect the increasing interest of all countries—developed, developing, emerging—in using innovation, creativity, and entrepreneurship to drive growth, and in building innovation and creative ecosystems,” Tang said.
For the Philippines in particular, achieving the 50th rank illustrates steady progress resulting from the current administration’s concerted and broad-ranging efforts to boost innovation in the country. The National Innovation Council (NIC), composed of 22 government departments and sectoral representatives and chaired by President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr., directs policy development and spearheads initiatives that promote the value of innovation to nation-building.
“It’s a whole of government collaborative approach in building this dynamic ecosystem,” said Diane Maharjan, Director of Innovation Staff at the Department of Economy, Planning and Development (DEPDev) which Vice-Chair of the NIC. “As we translate innovation to more impactful outputs, we bring together all the programs of the different agencies that contribute to building this innovation ecosystem.”
The Department of Science and Technology (DOST) and the Department of Information and Communications Technology expressed agreement p and stressed the role of intellectual property administration in achieving their respective departments’ objectives.
DOST Secretary Renato Solidum, Jr. shared the importance of collaboration between IPOPHL and DOST to achieve broader and more inclusive engagement with the IP system.
“We have grassroots innovation. They don’t file for IP, but there is much innovation even as far as the highlands. Some have not even finished high school but possess potential intellectual property. Let us help them,” Solidum said.
DICT Secretary Henry Aguda conveyed the need for the IP system within his domain.
“It would be great to teach those in the IT industry the discipline of IP protection,” Aguda said. “Among scientists, it’s a significant matter, because they learn to document properly, protect their rights, and watch the progress of their patents. We want to apply that same discipline to the IT industry, whether it’s a patent, a utility model, or copyright.”
For her part, IPOPHL Director General Brigitte da Costa-Villaluz emphasized that GII rankings should not be seen only as a grade. “It shows our innovation capabilities, what Filipinos are really capable of doing “ da Costa-Villlauz said. She further affirmed the office’s readiness to collaborate with its NIC partners toward building a more engaged, inclusive, and accessible innovation landscape for the Philippines.
“You have IPOPHL’s wholehearted commitment,” da Costa-Villaluz said.
Dive into the GII 2025 report for the Philippines for more detailed insights into the country’s innovation progress this year.