DOST, CHED launch PHITEST to boost Filipino technology commercialization

The Department of Science and Technology (DOST) and the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) are advancing a new national initiative to accelerate the commercialization of Filipino technologies and strengthen the country’s participation in global industries.

Called the Philippine Technology Evaluation and Standards for Testing (PHITEST), the initiative seeks to establish a unified national framework for technology testing, validation, certification, and standards development to help locally developed innovations reach industrial scale and global markets.

The program is being implemented in partnership with state universities and colleges (SUCs) and private higher education institutions (HEIs), which government agencies said would play a key role in transforming research into commercially viable technologies and industries.

“Innovation only matters when it becomes part of the economy,” said Renato Solidum Jr., secretary of the Department of Science and Technology.

“PHITEST builds the systems that allow Filipino technologies to enter markets, create jobs, and strengthen industries,” Solidum added.

According to DOST, the initiative addresses what officials described as a long-standing structural gap in the country’s innovation ecosystem — the absence of a standardized national system for evaluating and preparing technologies for commercialization and industrial adoption.

Government officials said PHITEST is expected to strengthen productivity, expand exports, increase high-value employment, and improve the country’s competitiveness in innovation-driven industries.

President Bongbong Marcos earlier called for Filipino inventions to be transformed into scalable enterprises capable of driving productivity growth and expanding the country’s participation in high-value sectors such as semiconductors, electronics, renewable energy, agriculture, health technologies, and artificial intelligence systems.

CHED chairperson Shirley Agrupis said universities are now being repositioned to serve as drivers of economic transformation and the commercialization of innovation.

“We are shifting higher education from knowledge production to economic capability, where research becomes industries, productivity growth, and global competitiveness,” Agrupis said.

Under PHITEST, six major sectors have been identified as priority areas: semiconductors and electronics, agriculture and aquaculture, health and biomedical technologies, energy and green technologies, transportation and mobility systems, and digital and emerging technologies.

However, the initial rollout will focus primarily on semiconductors and electronics, biopharmaceutical and health technologies, and agriculture and aquaculture.

DOST said the initiative is expected to help Filipino innovations move “beyond invention into industrial adoption and economic impact.”

The agency added that over the medium term, PHITEST aims to strengthen the country’s export-led innovation strategy, improve industrial upgrading, and help position the Philippines among more competitive innovation-driven economies in the region. —LDF, GMA News