By Heherson P. Valdez
IN PHOTO: Mr. Romeo M. Javate, Division Chief of Investment and Business Operation Division, DOST-TAPI; Dr. Joel C. Magday, Jr., SSD Chief, Philippine Science High School Cagayan Valley Campus; Engr. Jonathan D. Nuestro, Provincial Director, PSTO Nueva Vizcaya; and ClusteRICE 2025 Northern Luzon Finalists. Photo courtesy of Russel Owen B. Viloria from PSHS - CVC
Bayombong, Nueva Vizcaya – The final leg of the search for the country’s best and brightest local innovations through the Regional Invention Contest and Exhibit by Cluster (ClusteRICE) 2025, spearheaded by the Department of Science and Technology – Technology Application and Promotion Institute (DOST-TAPI), was successfully concluded on October 14–15, 2025, at the Philippine Science High School – Cagayan Valley Campus.
After a rigorous evaluation of proposals and pitching sessions, Northern Luzon innovators emerged as the final batch of national qualifiers who will join other regional winners in competing at the highly anticipated National Invention Contest and Exhibit (NICE) 2026 in Manila.
Northern Luzon Official NICE 2026 Qualifiers
DOST-TAPI officially announced the following entries as winners of ClusteRICE 2025 Northern Luzon Cluster. Winners from these categories will advance to 2026 NICE:
IN PHOTO: Mr. Romeo M. Javate, Division Chief of Investment and Business Operation Division, DOST-TAPI; Dr. Joel C. Magday, Jr., SSD Chief, Philippine Science High School Cagayan Valley Campus; Engr. Jonathan D. Nuestro, Provincial Director, PSTO Nueva Vizcaya; Engr. Maria Concepcion S. Zabala, Intellectual Property Rights Specialist Intellectual Property Office Philippines; Mr. Noel A. Deplomo, CEO, Erovoutika Robotics and Automation Solution ; Mr. Cloyd C. Velasco, President & Founder, Philippine Network of Angel Funders Inc; and NICE 2026 Northern Luzon Qualifiers. Photo courtesy of Russel Owen B. Viloria from PSHS - CVC
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Entry Title |
Category |
|
A Process of Producing a Food-Grade Oven-Dried Ternate (Clitoria ternatea L.) Flower Powder |
Likha Award for Outstanding Creative Research (Private Funded) |
|
Papa Eat-han’s Serpentina Mix |
Likha Award for Outstanding Creative Research (Government Funded) |
|
Development, Evaluation and Testing of Recyclable Plastic Materials Molding Machine |
Sibol Award for Outstanding Student Creative Research (College) |
|
EDAD: Early Diagnosis of Alzheimer’s Disease Utilizing Low-cost Plasma Peptide Extraction, Atmospheric Pressure Mass Spectrometer, and Support Vector Machine-Based Classification of Amyloid-beta Species |
Sibol Award for Outstanding Student Creative Research (College) |
These entries will compete against other NICE 2026 qualifiers from the Southern Luzon, NCR, Visayas, and Mindanao clusters.
Moving forward to NICE 2026
Winners of NICE 2026 will have the chance to access various DOST-TAPI programs and services, should they wish to apply, including funding support, product development grants, commercialization assistance, and intellectual property (IP) services. They may also be selected to represent the Philippines in international invention fairs and exhibitions.
The last leg of ClusteRICE 2025 was co-organized by DOST 1 - Department of Science and Technology Regional Office No. 1, DOST - Region 2, DOST-Central Luzon, DOST - CAR, and Philippine Science High School-Cagayan Valley Campus.
ClusteRICE is part of DOST-TAPI’s Institutional Support for Technology Exposition (ISTE) Program, implemented through the Technology Information and Promotion Division (TIPD). The program serves as a strategic platform to promote DOST-developed technologies and local inventions, anchored on Republic Act 7459, or the Inventors and Invention Incentives Act of the Philippines.
The Department of Science and Technology - Technology Application and Promotion Institute (DOST-TAPI) is among the DOST’s service agencies tasked to promote technology commercialization and innovation support services, created under the Executive Order No.128 on 30 January 1987.
For more information about DOST-TAPI’s programs and services, you may email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., call (02) 8582 1450, or visit the official DOST-TAPI Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/DOST.TAPI.
