RAYMOND TAN
The Philippines is in the midst of an unprecedented economic boom, following a decade-long period of sustained more than 6 percent per year gross domestic product growth. This rate of growth is among the highest in the world. Nevertheless, much of the development has been concentrated in the major urban centers and the challenge of making the growth more equitable, inclusive, and geographically distributed remains. Such a goal can only be achieved by infusing innovation into the country’s agricultural, manufacturing, and service sectors to make them more competitive in the face of contemporary challenges, including Asean (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) integration as well as the much-discussed Fourth Industrial Revolution.