Electric transport is the way forward, Science Secretary Renato Solidum said yesterday.
“We plan to convert conventional buses into electric buses,” Solidum said in a televised interview. “We are working on converting conventional transportation into electric tricycles, e-boats, and other transport modes for a cleaner environment and better transport modes.”
He said the government, through the Department of Science and Technology (DOST), will deploy electric ferry boats such as those that ply the Pasig River.
Solidum also called for project proposals through DOST’s Technology Application and Promotion Institute (TAPI) and its new entrepreneurship program that was launched yesterday.
“TAPI is focused on inventors and researchers wanting to commercialize their inventions,” Solidum said. “Inventors are selected for their potentials, such as effectiveness and likelihood of successful commercialization.”
One example of a successful application and commercialization was demonstrated during the pandemic, said Solidum, pointing to a testing kit which was repurposed by Dr. Raul Destura of the University of the Philippines Manila and the National Institutes from a dengue test kit to a COVID test kit.
TAPI, created in 1987, is one of DOST’s service agencies whose primary responsibility is to promote the commercialization of technologies. – Paul Icamina
