1.

 Karaoke: Invented in 1975 by Roberto del Rosario. I

really thought this was a Japanese invention, despite its’
popularity here, and I was completely wrong. A brilliant
guy, he invented many other musical devices, but
Karaoke will always be remembered as his greatest
triumph (or bane to humankind, depending on your point
of view.)
2. Medical Incubator: Invented in 1941 by Fe del
Mundo. She was the first Asian student in Harvard’s
School of medicine. Countless young lives were saved
by her invention and genius.
3. Moon Buggy: Invented in 1968 by Eduardo San
Juan. He was the project leader for NASA in the buggy
development: An underfunded and underappreciated
engineering success. This one has special significance
to me, due to my Grandfather working at the Cape in the
early space program. The moon buggy allowed greater
exploration of the Moon, yet Eduardo San Juan’s
contribution has been relegated largely to status as a
footnote.
4. Erythromycin: Invented (Discovered) by Dr.
Abelardo Aguilar in 1949. He sent a sample to Eli Lilly,
who promptly stole the idea and patented it, and later
marketed it successfully. Remember kids, this is why the
great inventors always go to attorneys first… He never
received a single peso from his product, that saved
millions of lives (Thank him if you are allergic to
penicillin!).
5. Yoyo: Invented as a hunting weapon by the ancient
Filipinos, probably in the Visayas. “Discovered” when
Magellan landed.
6. Video Phone: Invented by Gregorio Zara, in 1955 no
less! When James Bond was using one in Dr. No, it had
already been in existence a number of years. This is the
predecessor of the camera in your mobile!

7. Computer Microchips: Many types were invented by

Diosdado Banatao, beginning with the world’s first 16-bit
chip in 1972, which he invented while working at
Commodore. This led to the development of GUI (The
thing that makes the graphics on this page…). Why
should you care? Without GUI, you would now be
looking at a page filled with nothing but a bunch of ones
and zeroes.
8. Isolated Rice Breeds: In 1966, Dr. Rodolfo Aquino
isolated nine specific breeds of rice for the International
Rice Research Institute. His discoveries helped prevent
famine in much of Asia, and were nearly solely
responsible for Thailand and Vietnam becoming the
world’s leading rice producers (A spot once solely
occupied by the Philippines.).
9. Drug Detection: Dr. Enrique Ostrea developed the
method for detecting drug use by pregnant females by
detecting traces in the baby’s stools. His method is used
by doctors worldwide in diagnosing drug dependency in
infants.
10. Jeepney: Immediate post-war, and the most
common form of transportation in the country today. A
Filipino invention, though born from necessity, ingenuity,
and thrift.
11. Patis: Love it or hate it, I was surprised that it has
only been around for the last 60 years! Additionally, the
Filipino Patis was the basis for the Vietnamese and Thai
fish sauce industries, and not the other way around. (If
you think Filipinos use a lot, after a week in Thailand or
Vietnam???) It was invented by Tantay Food and
Sauces after they discovered that their dried fish were
turning into liquid when stored with salt in earthen jars.