PHILIPPINE STARTUP CHALLENGE 4

THEME: Young innovators creating a Digital Philippines

CATEGORY NO. 1: LEGAL

Q. In the Philippines, approximately 30 to 50 cases are being heard in courts every day. The
courts are docketed with thousands of cases – sometimes, irrelevant and petty which makes the
wheel of justice turn slow. This is one of the reasons why cases of those who are in City jails will
take years before they will be given the sentence. The slow process give birth to other problems
like overcrowding of prisons. As a young innovator, think of the best way to give technology-
based solution to this pressing problem in the Philippine legal system.

Sub Categories:

- Slow and manual processing of filing cases

- Slow process in court decisions
- Manual processing of delivery of summons and other legal documents

CATEGORY NO. 2: HEALTHCARE

Q. In the Philippines, it is estimated that 1 in 5 Filipinos commit suicide every day. Based on the
available data from the Department of Health, the Philippines has one psychiatrist per 250,000
people in the country, a far cry from the standard ratio of 1 per 50,000 people. Meanwhile,
according to recent report of UNAIDS, Philippines posted the highest increase in HIV infection in
the Asia-Pacific region at 150%. Despite the initiatives of the Health Department as well as
private individuals and organizations, problems related to Mental Health and HIV is yet to be
addressed. How can you help augment the existing solutions and efforts to solve this problem in
the health sector?

Sub Categories:

- Lack of proper health and sanitation management

- Lack of medical professionals in rural areas

CATEGORY 3: ENVIRONMENT AND CLIMATE CHANGE

Q. Plastic manufacturing is estimated to use 8 percent of yearly global oil production. The EPA
estimates that at least five ounces of carbon dioxide are emitted for each ounce of
polyethylene (PET) produced—the type of plastic most commonly used for beverage
bottles. In the recent report echoed by Greenpeace Philippines and Save Philippine Seas, The
Philippines is considered the 3rd biggest dumper of plastics in the ocean.

As a young innovator, how can your innovation help address this societal problem?
Sub Categories:

- Flooding due to congested waterways

- Search, Rescue and Response Mechanisms in Disaster Prone areas
- Management of Donations
- Rehabilitation

CATEGORY 4: AGRICULTURE

According to a bio-technology expert, Dr. Harvey Glick, the Philippines could face food shortage
if the government fails to implement a sound food security policy that encourages the use of
modern, agricultural biotechnology.

As a young innovator, what innovation can you propose to address the threat of food shortage
in the Philippines?

Sub Categories:

- Improvement of farming strategies and methods

- Farmers’ education in improvement of crop production
- Farmers’ lack of access to funds

CATEGORY 5: GOVERNMENT PROCESSES

Q. Any government transaction is considered slow, bureaucratic and inefficient by Filipinos

themselves. Processes whether it be for business or personal purposes will take days, weeks and
sometimes even months to accomplish. As a young innovator, how can you make use of
technology to speed up and make government processes as efficient as possible?

Sub Categories

- Long queues in the Immigration section in the Airports

- Slow processing of license in Land Transportation Office (LTO)

CATEGORY 6: TRANSPORTATION

The Philippines is considered one of the worst in the world in terms of the traffic situation.
According to the 2014 report of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), the
Philippines is losing P2.4 billion a day because of the traffic jam. Latest data shows that there are
7.4 million vehicles plying Philippine roads and only 15 running trains that carry up to 650,000
passengers every day.

The effects of traffic jam are both personal and social. As a young innovator, how can you use
technology to address this problem in the country?
Sub Categories

- Trafffic/Road Management
- Convenience of daily commuters

CATEGORY 7: LOCAL EMPLOYMENT

Job-market mismatch has been a pressing problem in the Philippines. According to DOLE, “10
out of 1000 Filipino applicants are getting hired because many lack the necessary skills needed for
the jobs available in the world.”

As a young innovator, how can you help solve this problem in the labor sector?

Sub Categories

- Equal job opportunities for every Filipino (PWDs, Ex-convicts, Victims of Drug abuse)
- Job-skills mismatch
- Slow processing of requirements for employment (Police Clearance, NBI Clearance,
School Records, etc)

CATEGORY 8: EDUCATION

According to the Annual Poverty Indicators Survey (APIS), the Philippines has an estimated 3.8
Million out of school children or about 10 percent of the 39 million Filipinos ages 6 to 24 years
old. The top reasons why the youth are out of school are personal/family matters (42.3%); High
cost of education/Financial concerns (20.2%) and lack of personal interest (19.7%).

As a young innovator, how can technology encourage your fellow youth to pursue education
given the reasons and challenges they face?

Sub Categories

- Lack of interest of students

- Declining attendance to school
- Lack of scholarship opportunities for students
- Low literacy rate in far-flung communities

CATEGORY 9: POVERTY AND HUNGER

According to the latest Social Weather Station (SWS) survey, there are estimated 3.1 Million
families who experienced involuntary hunger at least once during the 4th quarter of 2016.

As a young innovator, how will you use technology to address this social problem?
Sub Categories

- Management of Food Wastes in Restaurants

- Price monitoring of Basic Goods and Services especially in the rural communities

CATEGORY 10: PEACE AND ORDER AND CITIZEN RESPONSIBILITY

The country is currently plagued with different crimes including the latest terrorist attacks in
selected parts of the country. Crime reporting has been a challenge especially now that the
government particularly the Philippine National Police (PNP) are being accused of supporting
extrajudicial killings.

As a young innovator, how can you help encourage the citizens to be both engaged and vigilant
with the use of technology? How can your innovative solution help both the government and
the public in solving the proliferation of crimes in the Philippines?

Sub Categories

- Crime Reporting
- Peace and Order Management
- Implementation of policies

IMPORTANT NOTE:
The problem statements given will only guide the teams in thinking of socially relevant and
business viable innovations. The teams may or may not follow the problem statements given
and may think of other problems to solve based on the given categories and sub-categories.