In 2023, the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines, or IPOPHL, received several awards and recognition from various organizations highlighting IPOPHL's excellent performance as an office and its commitment to good and meaningful governance.

Last month, I had the great honor of representing IPOPHL as I climbed onstage at the AIM Conference Center, nominated to the 2023 Society of Fellows under the Institute for Solidarity in Asia.

Members of ISA's Society of Fellows are officials who advocate and propagate good governance and responsible citizenship in both the public and private sectors, particularly by championing and promoting the Performance Governance System within their organizations and networks.

MPA for site-blocking

Meanwhile, IPOPHL was also recently awarded by the Motion Picture Association, or MPA, for its unwavering push to establish the Philippines' site-blocking mechanism, a tool seen to help the creative economy grow by disabling access to piracy sites.

This award was not the first that IPOPHL received from the MPA. To recall, I received the same award in 2021, the "Site-blocking in Asia Pacific — Government Leadership Award" for the IPOPHL's push to implement site-blocking at the forefront of its fight against piracy.

ISA compliance

Showing our compliance with international standards, IPOPHL has maintained its quality management system's, or QMS, compliance with the International Organization for Standardization's 9001:2015 Certification. This ISO Certification covers the process for the grant of patents and the registration of utility models, industrial designs, and trademarks.

Outstanding eNGAS User Entity

IPOPHL was also awarded as the Outstanding eNGAS User Entity by the Government Financial Management Innovators Circle Inc., or GFMIC, for its effective use of an electronic system that helped improve the office's financial reporting.

The eNGAS, or Enhanced Electronic New Government Accounting System, is used in generating financial reports consistent with International Public Sector Accounting Standards.

Unqualified opinion

Although not necessarily an award but proof of our compliance with best practices in financial management, IPOPHL also received an "unqualified or unmodified opinion" from the Commission on Audit for its financial reporting, marking 10 straight years that IPOPHL has been achieving the positive auditing finding.

This coveted mark states that financial reports and balance sheets presented by an agency are free from material misstatements in compliance with International Public Sector Accounting Standards.

Regional leader in enforcement

The Philippines, through the collaborative efforts of IPOPHL and the 15-member National Committee on IP Rights, had been cited by the Transnational Alliance to Combat Illicit Trade in its "Fighting Fakes, Contraband and Illicit Trade: Spotlight on The Philippines" report as a regional leader in promoting domestic cooperation, particularly in IP coordination in enforcement.

These awards and commendations only show that IPOPHL's work is drawing more attention from local and global institutions. Through one channel at a time, the word about IP's role in advancing innovation and creativity is getting louder.

The country could expect more from IPOPHL as we plan to intensify our impact through several activities in 2024.