The Philippines' Department of Science and Technology (DoST) has committed P887 million across at least 76 projects as of 2026, an effort the agency says is designed to energize the country's creative industry and rein in a trade deficit in creative goods, with imports currently running at more than double the value of exports.

"Through DoST-PCIEERD (Philippine Council for Industry, Energy, and Emerging Technology Research and Development), we have supported the creative industries through at least 76 projects with investments of more than P886 million," DoST Secretary Renato U. Solidum Jr. said.

Mr. Solidum delivered the remarks in his keynote address at the opening ceremony of Creative Summit 2026, an event led by DoST-PCIEERD on Thursday.

The P886.5-million outlay spans six focus areas and encompasses a total of 76 projects as of 2026.

The largest allocation, amounting to P481.8 million, went to 23 projects tied to traditional industries such as handloom weaving, furniture, footwear, bamboo musical instruments, and jewelry. A further P176.5 million was channeled into 20 projects covering games, digital animation, film, augmented and virtual reality (AR/VR), and other emerging media. The traditional-industries allocation alone represents more than half of the total outlay.

Another P108.9 million was set aside for 15 projects involving technology business incubators, startups, and social enterprises, while P49.1 million funded eight projects dedicated to the restoration and conservation of heritage structures. The agency also put P46.5 million into three projects featuring interactive galleries in science museums and traveling science and technology exhibitions, and P23.7 million into seven projects involving specialized laboratories for footwear, acoustics, and language processing, along with related programs under its Research on Regional Innovations initiative. Together, the six focus areas account for the full 76-project, P886.5-million program.

According to Mr. Solidum, the near-billion-peso investment is meant to support a Philippine creative economy that has been expanding steadily. Citing data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), he said the sector posted a value of P2.12 trillion in 2025, up from P1.98 trillion in 2024, marking a 6.9% increase.

The spending also targets the country's trade imbalance in creative goods. The Philippines imports P711 billion worth of creative goods, more than double the P320 billion worth of exports — a P391-billion gap between the two figures.

"There is a large opportunity for Filipino creative goods to be better, more competitive, and more widely sold, at home and abroad," Mr. Solidum said.

Despite ongoing efforts, the secretary acknowledged that the agency still needs to bridge the gap between research prototypes and commercial products and to expand technology access among regional creators. It also has to address challenges involving generative artificial intelligence (AI) and intellectual property protection.

Moving forward, Mr. Solidum said the agency would update its research and development roadmaps based on the creative sector's needs and market direction, and would strengthen partnerships among researchers, businesses, government agencies, and communities.

— Edg Adrian A. Eva, BusinessWorld

Original source: BusinessWorld