CURRENT ISSUES/NEWS WITH CONCERN TO

INDIGENOUS SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY IN

THE PHILIPPINES
DOH-recommended herbal plants in the Philippines
By
Ruth Karla Mae M. Domingo
- August 10, 2017
SINCE time immemorial, people from all the corners of the globe have been using herbal plants
in treating different diseases.
The ancient civilizations were known to have relied on the power of herbal medicines, and even
the modern world has adopted some of their practices and herbal concoctions in utilizing this
alternative medicine.
In the Philippines where herbal plants species abound, it is customary for Filipinos to use them in
nursing minor sicknesses such as cough, colds, flu, infections, and other skin infections. Though
there are still many Pinoys who still question the efficacy of these plants, medical researches and
studies have already acknowledged their value in the world of medicine.
The Department of Health (DOH)released their recommended list of herbal plants found in the
Philippines and the health benefit they provide.
In 1997 then President Fidel V. Ramos signed the Republic 8423 also known as Traditional and
Alternative Medicine Act. This gave birth to the Philippine Institute of Traditional and Alternative
Health Care.
Sambong or blumea camphor (Blumea balsamifera)
This plant is known for its useful traits in treating kidney stones, wounds and cuts. It can be
helpful as well in healing rheumatism, colds, coughs and acts as an anti-diarrhea, anti-spasms.
Patients with kidney problems are familiar with sambong, as it’s popular to carry diuretic
treatment for hypertension. It also regulates uric acid in the body.
Studies show that this plant helps delay dialysis.
Akapulko or ringworm bush or Acapulco
(Cassia alata)
In most places, this plant is called as bayabas-bayabasan and it’s an effective treatment for tinea
infections, insect bites, ringworms, eczema, scabies and itchiness.
The akapulko leaves when extracted can be directly applied to affected areas in the skin.
Ampalaya or bitter gourd (Momordica charantia)
The plant is originally a vegetable eaten alongside fish and meat dishes as meals. It might have a
bitter taste but it is endorsed by the DOH because of its healing power on diabetes,
hemorrhoids, coughs, burns and scalds.
This plant is normally extracted to food supplements ingested by patients.
Bawang or Garlic (Alium sativum)
Bawang is a staple in the Philippine alternative medicines. Aside from being useful in the kitchen,
it also can give benefits to your body. It has been proven to heal infection because of its anti-
bacterial and anti-inflammatory properties, and it is also known to reduce cholesterol levels. It
plays a significant role in lowering blood pressure and boost the immune system.

Bayabas leaves or guava (Psidum guajava)

Bayabas is a fruit equally delicious and helpful for the body. It’s used as a herbal medicine for
treating open wounds and keeping the intestines healthy.
The leaves have antibacterial and antiallergy properties that perfect to apply on wounds.
Lagundi or five-leaved chaste tree (Vitex negundo)
This plant is effective in reducing cough, colds, and fever. It’s also known to treat asthma,
pharyngitis, rheumatism, dyspepsia, boils, and diarrhea.
Lagundi is a common ingredient in cough syrups and capsules.
Niyog-niyogan or rangoon creeper (Quisqualis indica L.)
This type of vine is commonly mistaken for coconut. In reality, it is a medicine that eliminates
intestinal parasites. It also contains deworming properties.
It is also popular in healing ulcers, headaches, diarrhea, fever and painful urination and some
even claim it to be anticancer.
Tsaang cubat or scorpion bush (Ehretia microphylla)
Known as “wild tea” in the herbal world, this Is used to treat skin allergies like eczema, scabies,
and itchiness in childbirth.
The healing properties found in this plant can also be used to treat mild psoriasis.
Pansit-pansitan/ulasimang bato or clear weed or silver bush (Peperomia pellucida)
This herbal plant is powerful in treating arthritis and gout. The folklore also believes that it can
be a medicine for eye inflammation, high blood pressure and kidney problems.
It’s usually taken as part of a meal or in a salad.
Yerba buena or mint (Clinopodium douglasii)
It’s popular as peppermint and can be an analgesic to relieve body aches and pain due to
rheumatism and gout. This can also go as a pain reliever for stomach and tooth ache. Mint can
be extracted into tea.
Malunggay or horseradish tree (Moringa Oleifera)
Malunggay can be mixed with chicken in soups and beans. It’s considered as a superfood that
Filipinos use to increase milk in lactating women.
The leaves are source of phosphorus and iron. It has strong antioxidant and anti-inflammatory
compounds. It contains vitamin A, potassium, calcium, and vitamin C.
It is best when added in soup but it can also be consumed raw.
Tawa-tawa or asthma Plant (Euphoria Hirta)
The DOH recommended this plant as effective treatment for dengue fever. In 2014, it was listed
as beneficial when it comes to maintaining the upper respiratory and increasing the blood
platelet count.
Tawa-tawa is valuable in the health industry as it boosts the immune system. It was also
recorded to help patients recover from Dengue faster.
Banaba or giant crape myrtle (Lagerstroemia speciosa)
This herbal plant can be used to treat diabetes and kidney failure, as well as obesity and high
fever.
In folklore, banaba is used to prevent constipation, kidney inflammation, and urinary
dysfunctions.

Sourced from: https://businessmirror.com.ph/2017/08/10/doh-recommended-herbal-plants-in-

the-philippines/

Filipino inventors appeal to gov’t for financial aid

By Ben Cal
August 31, 2018, 5:17 pm

MANILA – The Filipino Inventors Society (FIS) on Thursday appealed to the government for
financial support to assist many outstanding Filipino inventions to propel the country towards
economic development and prosperity.

The FIS through its president, Manuel Dono made the clarion call during a press conference at
the newly-built Seda Hotel in Quezon City.

Dono said that despite the fact that there is a law passed by Congress in 1992 called Republic Act
7459 that provides incentives to Filipino investors, expanding the functions of technology
application and promotion, and appropriating fund amounting to PHP10 million annually, Filipino
inventors are still left behind because of lack of government support.
Through the years, enterprising Filipino inventors have come up with outstanding inventions, but
due to lack of financial support these inventions found their way in foreign countries that
massively produced them.

George de Guzman, the inventor of the famous power-up, the anti-pollution gadget, said it is
about time the government extends full support to poor and struggling Filipino inventors now
not later to help the Philippines towards economic development.

“In fact, there are plenty of Filipino inventors asking for government assistance to mass produce
their inventions such as the fuel-less power plant run by water and air, human drone, unsinkable
boats, the three-burst fire of the M-16 assault rifle, the wireless anti-carnapping device, to name
a few,” de Guzman said.

He said he invented and manufactured his power-up gadget without help from the government
or the private sector.

De Guzman recalled that the fluorescent lamp was invented by a Filipino many decades ago, but
it was patented and mass produced in America since there was no Filipino company that took
the risk of manufacturing it in the Philippines.

Another outstanding invention was the moon-wrecker vehicle that was used by American
astronauts during their moon landing.

The appeal of Dono and de Guzman for immediate government support was echoed by two
other famous inventors – Dr. Antonio F. Mateo and Dr. Jess Alburo.

Meanwhile, Richard Burgos, director of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST), who
was present during the press conference, assured the FIS of government support to Filipino
inventors.

Burgos was sent by DOST Secretary Fortunato de la Peňa to represent him at the press briefing
because he (Peňa) had other official function to fulfill.

Sourced from: http://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1046556

La Salle students create ID case with power bank

Annabella Garcia
Published 11:00 AM, July 26, 2018
Updated 11:09 AM, July 26, 2018
MANILA, Philippines – Tired of looking for available sockets in your classroom just to charge your
phone? How about bringing bulky power banks or losing your USB drives?

Meet Chargee, the brainchild of third year engineering students from De La Salle University. It
has a built-in 1900 mAh power bank and retractable 128gb storage flashdrive, and can give an
iPhone 6 roughly one full charge.

The invention has gone viral on social media for addressing a long-standing problem in one slim
package.

Andreana Santos, Celine Solis, David Zinampan, Ivan Yeung, and Sarah Tan developed the raw
design and the idea, while Angelo Casimiro helped build the working prototype.

(Facebook link of the post from one of the inventors:

https://www.facebook.com/AngeloCasii/media_set?set=a.1829345750445410&type=3)

As of posting, the photo has drawn 50,000 reactions and has been shared over 34,000 times.

Solis, Zinampan, and Santos are BS Industrial Engineering majors. Tan and Yeung are BS Industrial
Management Engineering majors minoring in Information Technology, while Casimiro is a BS
Electronics Communications Engineering major.

Zinampan said their creation was a school project. "Chargee" is a combination of the words
“charge” and ID.

"Initially, we created this product for emergency purposes but we decided to make it more
convenient for the users by increasing the capacity of the power bank," he said.

“We saw a similar product that incorporates a flash drive in their ID holder, and we thought of
adding a power bank as well," said Solis. "We know that this will benefit students and employees
since we use our smartphones often in school or work."

She added that they also asked help from others, including their professor Dr Jennifer Gutierrez
to bring the concept to life. The group worked on the project for a month while juggling other
responsibilities.

Santos, for her, part, said that when looking at the bigger picture in creating products, "its always
about solving problems that society is experiencing, may it be big or small."

"That was actually the first thing that was taught to us, to create something that solves a
problem,” she added.

When asked what’s in store for Chargee’s future, Yeung shared that the team will focus on
improving its features and will do some durability tests.
"We are still conceptualizing as a group, but we are strongly considering mass-producing the
product," he said.

Although Chargee is the group’s main priority at the moment, the group is not closing its doors
when it comes to creating another unique product.

“We may be looking into inventing new products in the future, but as of now the Chargee is our
priority," Yeung said.

"Angelo Casimiro, however, has always been passionate in making ideas come to reality. Future
inventions would depend on ideas presented to him or that he brainstormed himself. Some of
his notable inventions have been the creation of his own BB-8,” he added, referring to the life-
sized toy Casimiro created of the popular Star Wars character.

Sourced From: https://www.rappler.com/move-ph/208179-dlsu-students-id-case-powerbank-in-

one

PSHS teener invents air-con with air as medium

IMAGINE an air-conditioner that harnesses the air that people breathe every day as cooling
medium, and is environment-friendly because it does not use freon, or any chemical refrigerant.

How cool (no pun intended) is that?

Anyway, this is the 21st century and with enough bright minds, every thing is possible. Like
harnessing air, which is practically limitless, infinite, inexhaustible!

This time, it is one mind inside the head of a teenager then at the Philippine Science High School
in Naga, Camarines Sur, in the Bicol region. Now, she’s in her 19th summer, a “Pisay” (PSHS’s
popular name) alumna, and about to enter college at a De La Salle University (DLSU) to take up
mechanical engineering. The PSHS is under the Department of Science and Technology (DOST).

Meet Maria Yzabell Angel V. Palma, the young girl behind the AirDisc Air Conditioning Technology,
which she developed in 2016 and perfected after one-a -half years while she was still at PSHS-
Naga Campus.

She’s been recognized for her feat by the International Federation of Inventors’ Association (IFIA),
which even invited her to Switzerland in February, but she failed to go because she was then
graduating.

IFIA got her under its radar after 10 foreign organizations gave her awards for her AirDisc Air
Conditioning Technology.
Her most immediate goal is not money, she said; it is helping people and the environment through
her brainchild. She estimated that her unit would cost from P25,000 to P40,000. It can be used at
home, at offices, or company buildings and other venues.

“I want to help those who cannot afford an air-conditioner,” she said told the BusinessMirror in
an interview on July 30 during a news conference with PSHS leaders at a hotel in Quezon City.

That’s where she sees her invention’s significance, recalling that in 2016 more than 100 million
units of air conditioners were produced globally but not everybody could afford one, she said.
“This AirDisc will be very affordable to everyone specially the less fortunate. And it is significant to
Filipinos. We know it is very hot,there is global warming and it is getting worse every year.

“This cooling system will be a means so the poor, not just the rich, will be able to buy an air-
conditioner,” Palma said.

The AirDisc may still be currently quite expensive because it is still new and the production is still
limited, but with expected increasing demand and more production its price could go down soon,
Palma explained.

She said that loans or installment facilities will be made available to consumers, or it could even
be given free of charge, based on the consumer’s economic status.

She added that in the long-run the consumers could save with the use of AirDisc because its
electric consumption is low at 150 watts compared to commercial air conditioners which consume
1,200 watts, Palma explained.

No Chemical Refrigerant
Palma said the air-conditioning technology that she invented does not use a chemical refrigerant.

She noted that commercial air-conditioners in homes and cars use hydrofluorocarbon (HFC)
chemical refrigerants that are harmful to people and the environment.

She said her design does not use freon and it uses much less electricity. One vital aspect of her
invention is its ability to harness air molecules, which, certainly, is abundant, an understatement,
to say the least.
“What it will only use as cooling medium is air—the air we breathe,” the young inventor said.

Her invention, she pointed out, uses a new compressor, or more precisely, a centrifugal
compressor, which does not build up air moisture inside the compressor and, thus, creates no
water residue.
Since AirDisc does not use a chemical refrigerant, she said it will not contribute to greenhouse
gases that cause global warming.

The United Nations has mandated the phase out of chemical refrigerants so the use of AirDisc is
timely, she explained. It should be noted that 1 kg of HFC is equivalent to 20,000 kg of carbon
dioxide which is detrimental to the environment and to people’s health.

Open for partnership

Palma, who got help from her father, a mechanical engineer, said they are finalizing a commercial
prototype that is expected to be completed late this year or early-2019, then start manufacturing
the AirDisc air-conditioner.

“We are still open for partnership,” the young inventor said, pointing out that at least five
companies have already approached her family.

Palma prefers that there will be a manufacturer in every region, like Asia, the United States, and
others, “so there will be no monopoly and [that the product will be] well distributed.”
Proverbial light bulb

She recalled how she got the proverbial “light bulb” in her head lighted up and got the idea for a
freon-less cooling system.

It was in her project, a cooking equipment similar to an oven she and her classmates were
researching in 2016.

She said she noticed “cold air” coming out of the device and then decided to continue a research
on it. She consulted her father, of course.

Palma saw in one of her researches in the Internet a study by Japan’s Refrigerant and Air
Conditioning Industry that in Africa, one of the hottest places on Earth, has the lowest demand for
air-conditioners.

The reason: prices of air-conditioners in African countries are not affordable to the majority of the
people, unless one has a stable job.

“Here in the Philippines, my family is not well-off. Every time I turned on the air-condition my mom
would tell me to switch it off. As a child, I was asking, ‘why mom does not like to switch the air-
condition on,’” said the PSHS alumna. She now realized the reason why: high cost of electricity.

Now, she wants others to benefit from her invention.

“I wish this project will take off because my goal is to help other people, not just for profit or make
money. If we can have a big manufacturing company many people will be employed and raise the
Philippines’s employment rate,” Palma said. She also wants to have a manufacturing plant in the
Philippines.

The patent for her AirDisc Air Conditioning Technology is pending in the United States and in the
Philippines.

Awards

The 10 awards Palma received for her AirDisc aircon technology:

Leading Innovator Award from International Intellectual Property Network Forum;

International Leadership Award from Eurobusiness, Haller, Polland;
International Leadership Award from China Association of Invention, China;
Leadership Excellence Award from MyRis, Malaysia;
Leading Student Award from National Research Council of Thailand;
Leading Innovator Award from Indonesian Innovation and Invention Promotion Association,
Indonesia;
International Leadership Award from World Invention Intellectual Property Associations (WIIPA),
Taiwan;
Best Invention Award from WIIPA, Taiwan;
Special Citation for the Best Invention from MyRIS, Malaysia; and
International Best Young Inventor from Romanian Inventors Forum, Romania.

Low budget

Palma was one of the PSHS alumni and students from some of the science school system’s various
campuses across the country who were presented by the PSHS in the media briefing.

The PSHS System management, led by Executive Director Lilia T. Habacon and by her Deputy
Executive Director Dr. Rod Allan A. de Lara and other officials, as well as Director Richard P. Burgos
of the Science and Technology Information Institute (DOST-STII) campaigned for the school’s 2018
National Competitive Examination.

De Lara said the 16 PSHS campuses are populated by around 8,000 students (all scholars), and has
a current year budget of P4 billion.

With that budget, which he conceded is already high but can stand an increase for equipment and
laboratory facilities, the “budget per student [of PSHS] is around P200,000 per year.”

The budget is much higher than that of the Department of Education (DepEd) per student at
P25,000 every year, he noted. But compared to international standards, like in Singapore, PSHS’s
budget is low, he pointed out.
De Lara said the PSHS Campus in Palo, Leyte, Eastern Visayas, got a DNA testing equipment worth
$100,000 (around P53 million) only after one of its students, Hillary Diane Andales, won a global
science competition that gave her P20 million ($400,000) worth of prizes.

The DNA testing equipment was part of Andales’s prizes. It was donated to her school by the
organizers of the Breakthrough Junior Challenge, which is about communicating science as
understandable as possible.

De Lara said the PSHS System needs more laboratory facilities and equipment.

He cited the PSHS students’ consistent winning performances in international contests, recalling,
for instance, their five-year successive overall championship feats in 2013 in the Asean Plus Three
Junior Science Odyssey competition.

Habacon and de Lara said, “we have the brightest students in the Philippines.” They have the
numerous awards to back it up.

The awards the PSHS scholars have reaped included those from the Olympiad mathematics
competitions, such as two gold (Malaysia, April 2017), gold and silver (Singapore, July 2017) and
silver (Brazil, July 2017).

Burgos encouraged the PSHS System to initiate a stronger information campaign about its
students’ achievements and other activities to attract more youths into science as well as let
Filipinos know about the 16 campuses of the school in the country’s 16 regions.

(Sourced from: https://filipinoinventionsanddiscoveries.blogspot.com/2018/08/airdisc-air-

conditioning-technology.html)